US stock markets opened higher on Monday at the start of the new trading week. Investor attention on Wall Street remains focused on the war in the Middle East and its impact on oil prices. Markets are also looking ahead to a new interest rate decision from the US central bank later this week. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged because of the uncertainty caused by the conflict.
The Fed begins its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday. The central bank left interest rates unchanged in January, after delivering a third consecutive rate cut in December to support the economy. On Wednesday, the Fed will also release new forecasts for U.S. economic growth and inflation. These projections may provide greater clarity on the economic impact of the war. Given the high level of uncertainty, the Fed may delay further rate reductions.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7 per cent at 46,896 points. The broader S&P 500 gained 1 per cent to 6,695 points, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.2 per cent to 22,373 points.
Last week, the main Wall Street indices posted losses amid concerns about the war and rising oil prices.
Meta Platforms climbed 3 per cent. Reuters reported that the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram plans to cut thousands of jobs to reduce costs linked to major investments in artificial intelligence. According to sources, the cuts could affect up to 20 per cent of Meta’s nearly 79,000 employees.
Meta expects AI to take over much of the work currently done by staff. Earlier on Monday, the company also announced that it had signed a 27 billion dollar deal with Amsterdam-based AI cloud provider Nebius to supply AI infrastructure.
Shares in Nvidia rose 2.5 per cent as the world’s leading AI chipmaker hosts its annual developer conference. Discount retailer Dollar Tree advanced 3.6 per cent after releasing its quarterly results.
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