Stock market today: Wall Street rises ahead of a big week for central banks

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose Monday ahead of a busy week for central banks around the world that could dictate where interest rates go.

The S&P 500 added 32.33 points, or 0.6%, to 5,149.42, coming off its first back-to-back weekly losses since October. At one point during the day, it was on track to surpass its all-time closing high set last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 75.66, or 0.2%, to 38,790.43, and the Nasdaq composite gained 130.27, or 0.8%, to 16,103.45.

The highlight for Wall Street this week will likely be the Federal Reserve’s meeting on interest rates, which ends on Wednesday. The widespread expectation is for the central bank to hold its main interest rate steady at its highest level since 2001.

But Fed officials will also give updated forecasts for where they see interest rates heading this year and in the long run. They earlier had penciled in three cuts to rates this year, which would relieve pressure on the economy and financial system.

Recent reports on inflation have consistently been coming in worse than expected, though. That could force the Fed to trim how many rate cuts it foresees delivering this year.

Such a move would be a sore disappointment for Wall Street, where stock prices have already run up partly on expectations for lower rates. Treasury yields in the bond market have also eased since last autumn on such expectations, though they’ve pared those losses on worries about stubbornly high inflation.

It’s possible that the Fed could keep its main interest rate near its current level throughout this year, according to Joe Davis, Vanguard’s chief global economist. The investment giant recently raised its baseline outlook for the U.S. economy to see no recession in 2024, but it also raised its forecast slightly for underlying inflation trends.

Across the Pacific, the Bank of Japan will announce its latest decision on interest rates on Tuesday. It’s been keeping rates below zero in hopes of goosing the economy and inflation. Speculation is rising that wages for Japanese workers are rising enough for the Bank of Japan to finally move rates higher.

Across the Atlantic, the Bank of England will announce its latest decision