U.S. stocks advanced Monday after President Donald Trump signaled progress in trade negotiations with China, while investors looked ahead to a key Federal Reserve meeting later this week.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to close at 6,615.28, its first-ever finish above the 6,600 mark. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.9% to a fresh record high of 22,348.75, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 49.23 points, or 0.1%, to 45,883.45.
High-level U.S. and Chinese officials held a second day of talks focused on tariffs and a deadline surrounding the sale of TikTok. In a post on Truth Social, Trump described the discussions as positive and hinted that a deal was reached regarding a company popular among U.S. youth—likely referencing TikTok. According to Reuters, citing a senior U.S. official, the U.S. still intends to enforce its TikTok ban if China refuses to ease demands on tariffs and technology restrictions.
Meanwhile, China’s market regulator announced that Nvidia had breached anti-monopoly laws, adding it would press ahead with its investigation. The chipmaker closed slightly lower, diverging from gains across much of the Magnificent Seven.
Tesla rallied 3% after CEO Elon Musk disclosed a roughly $1 billion insider purchase, his largest-ever open-market buy and first major stock purchase since 2020. Investors viewed the move as a strong vote of confidence in the company as it pivots toward robotics amid intensifying EV competition.
The rally also followed fresh data showing a softer labor market and cooling inflation, fueling expectations that the Fed will cut interest rates when it concludes its meeting Wednesday. Futures markets reflected a 95.8% chance of a 25-basis-point cut and just a 4.2% probability of a larger 50-basis-point reduction, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
“The market is fully expecting the Fed to begin a series of rate cuts this week,” said Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “Much of today’s activity reflects traders positioning ahead of Wednesday’s announcement. It could turn into a classic ‘buy the rumor, sell the fact’ setup, but most investors won’t want to be short heading into the Fed decision.”
Lower borrowing costs could continue to underpin equities, which have been buoyed by enthusiasm around artificial intelligence despite lingering economic risks. Traders are also watching whether Stephen Miran will be sworn in as a Fed governor in time to participate in this week’s FOMC meeting.
