Wall Street closed higher again on Monday with the three major indexes hitting new records and investors keeping an eye on oil prices and news from the Federal Reserve.
The benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite broke above previous intraday highs of 2,188.45 and 5,238.54, respectively, shortly after the open. The Dow Jones industrial average also posted a record high in early trade, passing its previous high of 18,638.34. These records were all set last week, despite the indexes posted slight weekly gains.
At today’s close, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 72 points, or 0.39 percent, to trade at 18,648, with Boeing leading advancers and McDonald's the biggest decliner.
The S&P 500 gained 6 points, or 0.29 percent, at 2,190, with materials leading nine sectors higher and utilities the only laggard while the Nasdaq rose 0.46 percent, or 24 points, to 5,256.
According to Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial, "The market should continue to go higher on the no-alternative factor. The market is feeding on itself."
Oil and Fed Being Watched
Investors were also watching oil prices as U.S. crude rose more than 1.5 percent to about $45 a barrel in uneven trade. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak bolstered hopes on Monday that oil producing nations could take action to stabilize prices, informing a Saudi newspaper that his country was consulting with Saudi Arabia and other producers to achieve market stability.
Also being watched by investors is the Fed minutes from its July meeting which should be released shortly, although no surprises are expected from them.
Overseas, European stocks rose slightly, while Asian equities traded mixed, as Japan's Nikkei 225 fell after its GDP data disappointed, while China's Shanghai composite rose more than 2 percent on stimulus hopes.