Wall Street gained on Monday, driven by increased market optimism that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) may approve a cut to interest rates in December.

This sentiment was significantly bolstered after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller told Fox Business that he is advocating for a rate reduction at the central bank’s forthcoming meeting next month.

Waller indicated his expectation that inflation — which he believes has been augmented by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs — will eventually recede. However, he expressed lingering concerns regarding the “still weak” state of the labor market.

He further commented that the concentration of recent hiring within the leisure and hospitality and health care sectors was “not a good sign,” suggesting a potential imbalance in the economy’s trajectory.

At 11:40 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 249.13 points, or 0.54%, to 46,494.54, the S&P 500 gained 87.81 points, or 1.33%, to 6,690.80 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 503.65 points, or 2.26%, to 22,776.74.

At 09:44 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 6.02 points, or 0.01%, to 46,251.43, the S&P 500 gained 47.79 points, or 0.72%, to 6,650.78 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 332.20 points, or 1.49%, to 22,605.29.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 106.5 points, or 0.23%, to 46,351.93. The S&P 500 rose 33.6 points, or 0.51%, to 6,636.54, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 209.1 points, or 0.94%, to 22,482.156.

This week’s economic calendar includes releases of delayed reports on retail sales and inflation pricing data.

Key Stock Movers

Among mega-cap stocks, Alphabet jumped 4.6% and Tesla climbed 6.7%.

Broadcom shares rallied 10%.

Bristol-Myers stock gained 3.8% after European rival Bayer unveiled positive late-stage data for its cardiovascular drug.

Shares of US health insurers and hospital operators rose after a report said Trump’s health plan could see subsidy extensions for two years.

Centene soared 6.8%, while Oscar health surged 19%.

Bullion Market

Gold prices surged on Monday on growing expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next month and a weaker US dollar.

As of 09:12 AM ET (1412 GMT), spot gold was up 0.4% at $4,081.52 per ounce. US gold futures for December delivery were flat at $4,079.30 per ounce.

Elsewhere, spot silver added 0.5% at $50.24 per ounce, platinum rose 1.1% to $1,528.01, while palladium rose 0.8% to $1,385.85.

Crude Oil

Oil prices were steady on Monday after last week’s decline of about 3%.

Brent crude futures inched 6 cents lower to $62.50 per barrel by 1421 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate was down 3 cents to $58.03 a barrel.

Investors weighed hopes for Ukraine peace talks as the United States and Ukraine sought on Monday to narrow the gaps in a peace plan to end the Russian war.