Technology stocks helped extend a global stock rally for a third day, fueled by growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in December.
The MSCI World Index rose 0.1% after fresh comments from Federal Reserve officials in favor of interest rate cuts boosted investor sentiment.
Asian stocks rose 0.8%, with technology companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing among the gainers.
This followed gains in the Nasdaq 100 index on Monday, which ended three weeks of losses. Gold, which typically benefits from lower interest rates, also jumped to around $4,150 an ounce.
Stocks rose in Hong Kong and China after US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first talks since agreeing to a trade truce last month.
Technology stocks lead extended US trading
The technology sector remained a focus of attention in extended US trading, with shares of Google's parent company Alphabet rising 2.6% after a report indicated the company is accelerating its efforts to compete with Nvidia in the artificial intelligence chip market. Nvidia's shares fell 1.5%.
Support also came from comments by Federal Reserve member Christopher Waller, who became the latest central bank official to back a rate cut, boosting sentiment after a turbulent week for stocks amid concerns about rising AI valuations and uncertainty about the future course of monetary policy.
Some investors believe that this month's decline was a healthy correction that paves the way for a possible rally towards the end of the year.
David Laut, chief investment officer at Kerux Financial, said that many of the November concerns about artificial intelligence and a deteriorating labor market have not materialized. This suggests that we are witnessing a traditional pullback, not the start of a deeper correction.
Waller's tone was echoed by other Fed officials, including San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, who also supported a rate cut in December. New York Fed President John Williams also moved markets on Friday when he said a rate cut was still possible.
The Federal Reserve leadership made no effort to clarify the market's interpretation of Williams' comments on Friday, as Krishna Guha and Marco Casiraghi of Evercore ISI wrote in a note published Monday.
They added: These statements likely had the approval of Jerome Powell, and indicate that leadership expects to proceed with interest rate cuts in December.
Bonds and other markets
US Treasury bonds gave up some of the gains from the previous session, with the yield on the 10-year note rising one basis point to 4.04%.
Financial markets are now pricing in a near 90% probability of an interest rate cut at the December meeting, following weeks of volatile forecasts.
Gold added to its 1.8% gains from the previous session, while Bitcoin continued its volatile trading, declining slightly after rising in the previous two sessions.
Oil prices also stabilized as investors monitored the surge in risk appetite in the markets, factors that offset the impact of progress in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, which could pave the way for increased supplies.
Anticipated US data and corporate earnings season
Ahead of the Thanksgiving and Black Friday holidays, investors are awaiting new data to assess the health of the US economy. Retail sales figures for September, due Tuesday, are expected to show a slowdown, with consumers still feeling the pressure of high prices.
HP and Dell are scheduled to announce their earnings, while Alibaba Group will release its results in Asia.
Other data due this week include the Producer Price Index and durable goods orders for September.
Unemployment claims, due to be released on Wednesday, will gain added significance given the Fed's reliance on alternative indicators due to the absence of jobs data.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said there are growing signs that the economy remains sluggish, which will increase the importance of this week's retail sales data, even though the data will be relatively old. He added: There is some hope that the recent caution will be dispelled, at least temporarily.
