Wall Street hits new records ahead of Fed meeting

Reuters Videos
Updated

Record highs for the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq as investors moved cautiously on Monday ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting.

The Dow rose 94 points. The S&P 500 gained 8. The Nasdaq jumped 97.

The Federal Reserve meets Tuesday and Wednesday and is expected to begin removing some of the massive assistance its provided to the economy since the start of the health crisis threatened a big recession.

Greg Hahn, Chief Investment Officer, Winthrop Capital Management doesn’t expect the Fed to hint at any looming rate hikes.

"We think the the the initial steps to reduce bond purchases is the first step towards adjusting and normalizing interest rate policy and letting rates move higher if they have to. You know, they've shown this time and time again if they have to continue the purchase program longer than anticipated, they will. But right now, that's not the real concern that we have in the marketplace for the Fed to shift rates, it's whether the market can actually sustain it right now, given where we are in the recovery."

There was news Monday on how far the economic recovery has come. Manufacturing activity has expanded for the 17th straight month, according to the Institute for Supply Management. And in a bright spot - factories were able to increase employment in September. But there are headwinds. Manufacturing activity did grow at a slower pace in September due to supply shortages and rising raw material costs.

On the move Monday....Tesla. It hit a record high. The stock is still building momentum after topping a $1 trillion market valuation last week. Shares of Tesla rallied 8-1/12 percent.

Harley-Davidson was another stand-out stock. The company's motorcycles will no longer be hit by retaliatory tariffs against U.S. steel and aluminum by the European Union. The stock surged 9 percent.

Coca-Cola is buying the remaining stake in sports drink brand BodyArmor that it does not already own. The price tag at $5.6 billion is the drinks giant's largest buy of a single brand in the company's storied history. Shares of Coke ended with a slight loss.