U.S. stocks rose Monday as traders eyed inflation data and a Federal Reserve decision due later this week that could set the tone for the remainder of the year.How stocks are trading
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+1.11%
rose 304 points, or 0.9%, to 33,780.
The S&P 500 index
SPX,
+0.91%
was up 28 points, or 0.7%, at 3,962.
The Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
+1.56%
added 60 points, or 0.6%, to trade at 11,065.
Stocks stumbled last week, with the Dow dropping 2.8%, the S&P 500 losing 3.4% and the Nasdaq Composite shedding 4%.
What’s driving markets Stocks were off to a cautious start during a week in which inflation, plus monetary authorities’ campaigns to combat it, will be at the forefront. The caution follows poor performance over the past several sessions as investors continued to fret about higher borrowing costs and their impact on the economy and company earnings. “Last week, the fall rally throttled back as traders prepare for one of the last inflation reports — and the final Fed rate hike — of the year. The market decline coincided with renewed chatter about a recession, although the debate over a possible soft landing remains if inflation can continue to tick down and the labor market softens,” said Chris Larkin, managing director for trading at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley, in emailed comments. “While it doesn’t mean the fall rally has run its course, one element of price action used to define an uptrend — a series of higher highs and higher lows — was tested last week as the SPX broke the pattern to form a lower low for the first-time,” Larkin said. The S&P 500 is up more than 10% from its 2022 low but remains down 17.5% for the year to date in the face of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates by 375 basis points since March. “The recovery in global risk appetite faltered last week, especially in the U.S., where the major indices suffered their biggest setback since September. This week’s agenda is packed with major macro updates that will test sentiment further,” said Ian Williams, strategist at Peel Hunt. Most important will be the U.S. consumer price data on Tuesday, …