WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks moved sharply higher early in the session on Monday and continue to turn in a strong performance in afternoon trading. The major averages have pulled back off their highs of the session but remain in positive territory.
Currently, the Nasdaq is up 157.53 points or 1.0 percent at 16,130.70, the S&P 500 is up 38.30 points or 0.8 percent at 5,155.39 and the Dow is up 85.24 points or 0.2 percent at 38,800.01.
Technology stocks helped lead the early rally on Wall Street, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq surging higher after closing lower for three straight session.
Shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) remain sharply higher after a report from Bloomberg said Apple (AAPL) is in talks to build Google's Gemini artificial intelligence engine into the iPhone.
Nvidia (NVDA) also jumped early in the session ahead of its GTC Conference, where the chipmaker is expected to provide updates on its AI initiatives, but has given back ground since then.
At the same time, shares of Super Micro Computer (SMCI) have plunged after the information technology company was added to the S&P 500 before the start of trading.
Traders also continue to look ahead to the Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but the central bank's accompanying statement and economic projections could have a significant impact on the outlook for rates.
Recent hotter-than-expected inflation readings have reduced optimism about the likelihood of the Fed's first rate cut coming in June.
In U.S. economic news, a report released by the National Association of Home Builders showed an unexpected improvement in U.S. homebuilder confidence in the month of March.
The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose to 51 in March from 48 in February. Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged.
With the unexpected increase, the housing market index surpassed the breakeven point of 50 for the first time since hitting 56 last July.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged by 2.7 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.0 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved modestly lower on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index closed just below the unchanged line.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the downward trend seen throughout the previous week. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.2 basis points at 4.346 percent.
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