NEW YORK: US stocks were trading higher on Monday, as investors awaited US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's first remarks since the central bank adopted an interest rate hike last week.
At 1500 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were both up 0.2 percent at 19,884.21 and 2,263.05, respectively, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 0.4 percent to 5,458.03.
The blue-chip average was again flirting with another record high ahead of Yellen's speech. But the Fed last week suggested it may raise rates faster in 2017 than originally anticipated under the administration of President-elect Donald Trump and markets will be keen for additional signals on monetary policy ahead of the usually quiet holiday trading period.
Stock in the equipment manufacturer Caterpillar, which rallied in November, fell 0.7 percent, with Wall Street analysts taking a generally gloomy view of the company's prospects in the coming year.
Drugmaker Merck fell 1.1 percent after being downgraded by the investment firm Jeffries. Fellow pharma giants Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson were headed higher, with Pfizer gaining 0.3 percent and J&J adding 0.4 percent.
Media powerhouse Walt Disney rose two percent, getting a shot in the arm after being added to the US 1 list of recommended stocks at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch.
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