Wall Street kicked off the week leading up to the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole Symposium with a positive momentum as traders anticipate reassuring signals from policymakers about the impending start of interest rate cuts, following further easing of inflation last month.

Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 were positive by 1:30 p.m. ET, eyeing their eighth straight session in the green. All the eleven S&P 500 sectors recorded a gain, indicating widespread bullish sentiment.

Growing confidence that the Federal Reserve will begin its monetary easing cycle in September pushed the U.S. dollar index below the 102 level, a threshold last seen on January 2, 2024.

The weakening of the U.S. dollar sparked a rally in emerging-market stocks, with the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund EEM rising 0.9% on Monday, setting it on course for its ninth positive close in the last 10 sessions.

U.S. small caps also rebounded, with the iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM climbing 0.7%, breaking above its 50-day moving average and slightly outperforming large-cap indices.

In the commodities market, gold held steady at $2,500 per ounce after hitting record highs on Friday, its best-performing session since December. Oil prices fell 2.4% as the absence of retaliation from Iran against Israel has reduced some of the risk premium in crude prices.

Bitcoin BTC/USD edged 0.5% higher after a 1.8% drop on Sunday.

Monday’s Performance In Major US Averages, ETFs

Major Indices 1-day %chg Russell 2000 0.8% S&P 500 0.5% Dow Jones 0.4% Nasdaq 100 0.3% Updated at 1:12 p.m. ET

According to Benzinga Pro data:

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was 0.5% higher to $557.03.

was 0.5% higher to $557.03. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA also rose 0.5% to $408.88.

also rose 0.5% to $408.88. The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ edged up 0.4% to $476.92.

edged up 0.4% to $476.92. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF rallied 0.8% to $214.17.

rallied 0.8% to $214.17. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE and The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund XLY outperformed, both up by 1%. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund XLP lagged, up by 0.4%.

Monday’s Stock Movers

McDonald’s Corp . MCD rallied 3.3% after Evercore ISI adjusted the stock price target from $300 to $320, maintaining an Outperform rating.

. rallied 3.3% after Evercore ISI adjusted the stock price target from $300 to $320, maintaining an Outperform rating. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD rose 2.5% after the company announced the acquisition of ZT System, a supplier of artificial intelligence infrastructure, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $4.9 billion.

rose 2.5% after the company announced the acquisition of ZT System, a supplier of artificial intelligence infrastructure, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $4.9 billion. General Motors Company GM rose 0.8% after laying off over 1,000 salaried employees globally in its software and services division as part of a review aimed at streamlining operations.

rose 0.8% after laying off over 1,000 salaried employees globally in its software and services division as part of a review aimed at streamlining operations. Amer Sports Inc . AS rallied over 8% ahead of its quarterly earnings report, scheduled in the premarket on Tuesday.

. rallied over 8% ahead of its quarterly earnings report, scheduled in the premarket on Tuesday. Stocks reacting to company earnings included The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. EL and ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. ZIM .

and . Palo Alto Networks Inc. PANW and Fabrinet FN will publish their results after the close.

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