NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks climbed early Monday, adding to last week’s gains ahead of key US inflation data expected to influence future monetary policy decisions.

Besides data on consumer and wholesale prices for April, this week’s calendar includes retail sales for the same period.

Walmart and Home Depot are also scheduled to report quarterly earnings.

About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2 percent at 39,583.92.

Wall Street Week Ahead: Earnings bolster US stocks but crucial inflation report looms

The broad-based S&P 500 also gained 0.2 percent to 5,231.91, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.3 percent to 16,391.63.

“This will be an important week that will determine if the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite break out to new highs or move back into retreat mode,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.

“Last week was a week of forward progress, albeit on light volume that was presumably an acknowledgement of the importance of this week.”