US markets today: Wall Street opens higher as rate-cut hopes rise; holiday-shortened week keeps traders cautious

US stocks opened firmer on Monday as expectations of a December rate cut lifted sentiment at the start of a holiday-shortened trading week. The S&P 500 advanced 0.7 per cent, extending Friday’s rebound, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 138 points and the Nasdaq climbed 1.1 per cent, AP reported.The early uptick came despite a sharp slide in US-listed shares of Novo Nordisk after the drug maker said its Alzheimer’s candidate failed to slow disease progression in a clinical trial. The rally coincides with rising confidence that the Federal Reserve may ease policy again at its next meeting.US markets will remain shut on Thursday for Thanksgiving and will resume for a shorter session on Friday, coinciding with Black Friday and Cyber Monday activity.Futures trading earlier in the day pointed to a positive open, with S&P 500 contracts up 0.5 per cent and Nasdaq futures rising 0.7 per cent. Analysts said the focus is shifting from last week’s volatility in AI and Nvidia-driven trades to the strength of the US consumer entering the peak holiday season.Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said scant macroeconomic data during the six-week government shutdown has made investors overly sensitive to retail and spending cues. “In a data desert, even a puddle looks like a lake,” he noted, flagging the importance of foot-traffic and transaction trends.In Europe, Germany’s DAX traded 0.5 per cent higher by midday and Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.3 per cent, while France’s CAC 40 was flat. Asian markets were mixed, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rising 2 per cent on gains in Alibaba and Shanghai’s Composite marginally higher. Japan’s markets were shut for a holiday.Oil prices inched up, with US benchmark crude at $58.17 a barrel and Brent at $62.06.On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 1 per cent, the Dow added 1.1 per cent and the Nasdaq gained 0.9 per cent, leaving the benchmark index just over 4 per cent below its all-time high even as volatility marked its sharpest intraday swings since April.