Wall Street stocks began the week on a strong note, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finishing at records spurred by enthusiasm over artificial intelligence.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index led the major indices, climbing 1.0 percent to 17,857.02, a closing record for the sixth straight day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5 percent to 38,778.10, while the broad-based S&P 500 also finished at an all-time high, rising 0.8 percent to 5,473.23.
"It's not a broad rally but it's a rally with the index up for sure," said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management, who pointed to recent share price gains of Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia as a source of momentum.
Hogan also noted that the outlook for US monetary policy had improved somewhat following last week's US inflation data, which kept alive the chance of interest rate cuts in 2024.
This week's calendar includes the release of US retail sales data, as well a Bank of England policy meeting.
Among individual companies, Boeing advanced 0.7 percent as markets look ahead to Tuesday's hearing in the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations into the aviation giant's safety problems.
GameStop slumped 12.1 percent on disappointment that the company did not provide any major announcements at its annual meeting. The company has been in focus lately with the resurfacing of "meme" stock figure Keith Gill, who has touted the company.
Markets will be closed on Wednesday to mark National Independence Day.
On the South African front, the finalisation of South Africa’s Government of National Unity (GNU) on Friday has had a positive sentiment on local markets.
The JSE All Share Index ended last week 0.9% higher at 77 054 points, while the rand soared to three-week highs at R18.24 to the US dollar.
AFP