US stocks rise in early trading, Dow Jones keeps performing its best weekly performance in 2024

US stocks rose on Monday, adding some momentum to last week’s strong performance, with Wall Street looking towards new inflation data this week.

According to CNBC, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 81 points, or 0.2%. While both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hovered near the flat line.

The 30-stock Dow Jones Index had its best weekly performance of 2024, rising more than 2% last week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose more than 1% each during that period.

Investors are looking forward to seeing new signals about the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy with the reading of the April Consumer Price Index report scheduled for release on Wednesday. Traders are hoping that a return to raising interest rates is largely off the Fed’s table despite a series of unpleasant inflation numbers in recent months.

The April CPI reading is the key gauge to show that stocks are on a stable footing after a stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings season.

The results so far have helped stocks remain resilient despite the burden of inflation. Companies reported 92% of the S&P 500 index

After results for about 80% of companies were strong, exceeding Wall Street expectations, according to FactSet data.

Nvidia shares added about 1% after Jefferies raised its price target on the chipmaker to $1,200 per share, implying an upside of about 34%. According to analyst Blaine Curtis, it is too early to sort out the winners and losers in the artificial intelligence basket yet, but Nvidia is the favorite.