NEW YORK, June 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks edged higher on Monday ahead of this week's key inflation data and the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 189.55 points, or 0.56 percent, to 34,066.33. The S&P 500 added 40.07 points, or 0.93 percent, to 4,338.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 202.78 points, or 1.53 percent, to 13,461.92.
Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with technology and consumer discretionary leading the gainers by rising 2.07 percent and 1.74 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, energy and utilities led the laggards by losing 0.97 percent and 0.17 percent, respectively.
U.S. stocks kept the bullish momentum on Monday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq jumping to their highest closing levels since April 2022. Big tech continued to lead equity gains as Tesla stock climbed for a 12th straight session and Apple touched an all-time high. Oracle rose about 6 percent and hit a record high before it reported better-than-expected results in the fourth quarter.
The stock market extended its recent rally as investors awaited inflation data and the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision this week. The consumer price index (CPI) for May will be published on Tuesday, with investors hoping to see annual CPI numbers fall further. Tuesday also will mark the first day of the Fed's two-day policy meeting.
Many analysts believe the central bank will skip hiking rates when it announces monetary policy decision on Wednesday.
"The bull market rally looks like it doesn't want to stop, which means Wall Street appears confident that the Fed will not be delivering its 11th straight rate hike this week," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, a supplier of online multi-asset trading services.
"The Fed will try to keep optionality for further tightening available later this year and that should support their 'higher for longer' stance," Moya said.
The Federal Open Market Committee has around 80 percent probability of pausing rate hikes in the upcoming monetary policy meeting, according to data from the CME FedWatch Tool on Monday afternoon.
