U.S. Stocks Finish Quiet Day Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - Following the strong upward move seen last week, stocks managed to see further upside during trading on Monday. The major averages fluctuated over the course of the session but ended the day in positive territory.

The Dow rose 146.43 points or 0.4 percent to38389.09, the Nasdaq climbed 55.18 points or 0.4 percent to 15983.08 and the S&P 500 advanced 16.21 points or 0.3 percent to 5,116.17.

The modestly higher close on Wall Street came as stocks continue to benefit from the upward momentum seen last week, which came amid a positive reaction to upbeat tech earnings.

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) skyrocketed by 15.3 percent after the electric vehicle maker said local Chinese authorities removed restrictions on its cars,

Overall trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but the accompanying statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting press conference may shed additional light on the outlook for rates.

Recent economic data has tamped down expectations of a near-term rate cut, with the central bank now seen as likely to leave rates unchanged until at least September.

Traders may also have been sticking to the sidelines ahead of the release of an avalanche of earnings news this week along with the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report.

Sector News

Tobacco stocks showed a significant move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index up by 1.5 percent.

Considerable strength was also visible among utilities stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Utilities average

Biotechnology, telecom and commercial real estate stocks also saw notable strength, while mot of the other major sectors showed only modest moves.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Monday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed by 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index dipped by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.3 0.2 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries extended the rebound seen last Friday. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 5.5 basis points to 4.614 percent.