US STOCKS-Wall St rises on megacap boost ahead of Fed rate verdict

Wall Street's main stock indexes on Monday were boosted by gains in megacap growth stocks ahead of a busy week of earnings and interest rate decisions from major central banks including the Federal Reserve. Major technology and growth names such as Nvidia , Amazon.com, Meta Platforms, Alphabet and Tesla were up between 1.3% and nearly 3%.

The gains made communication services and consumer discretionary the top gainers among major S&P 500 sub-indexes, up around 1.5% each, while the technology sector rose about 1%. Aiding gains,

McDonald's rose 0.7% after beating estimates for third-quarter profit and sales.

Onsemi sank 14.5% after the chipmaker forecast fourth-quarter revenue and profit below estimates. Apple, Pfizer and Eli Lilly would be some of the major Wall Street companies reporting later in the week.

The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at the end of its policy meeting on Nov. 1, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool. However, certain parts of the economy have proved to be resilient, spurring concerns that the central bank could signal willingness to hold rates at their current level for longer than previously anticipated.

The October non-farm payrolls report due on Friday will be amongst the latest tests of the resilience of the world's largest economy. The Bank of England and the Bank of Japan would also be announcing their verdict on rates later in the week.

In the Middle East, Israeli troops and tanks attacked

Gaza's main northern city from the east and west on Monday, three days after it began ground operations in the Palestinian enclave. "On Friday going into this ground offensive, investors were really risk averse. So now because the offensive is not as big as everyone expected, on the margin this is good news for markets," said Anthi Tsouvali, multi-asset strategist at State Street Global Markets.

Geopolitical concerns as well as a surge in Treasury yields have weighed on U.S. equities this month, dragging the benchmark S&P 500 around 10% from its intraday high in July. At 9:38 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 285.36 points, or 0.88%, at 32,702.95, the S&P 500 was up 41.00 points, or 1.00%, at 4,158.37, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 155.87 points, or 1.23%, at 12,798.88.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury is likely to boost the size of auctions for bills, notes, and bonds in the fourth quarter when it announces its financing plans this week to fund a worsening budget deficit. A subsequent rise in yields may further pressure stocks. Western Digital Corp jumped 8.1% as the memory chipmaker disclosed plans to separate itself into two independent public companies, while Revvity Inc shed 15.1% on cutting its full-year forecast.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 5.45-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.95-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded no new 52-week high and 12 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded eight new highs and 79 new lows.