Trump administration officials have said they are making progress on trade deals with major partners and could unveil trade agreements in the coming months.
An aggressive tariff plan announced by Trump in early April initially battered financial markets, but Trump has backed off many of the most onerous provisions.
Analysts have also cited investor enthusiasm about Trump’s massive tax cut legislation currently being debated in the Senate. The measure also contains controversial cuts to health benefits for low-income populations and heavy spending on deportation programs.
Large banks, including Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase, advanced after the Federal Reserve on Friday gave the industry a passing grade on stress tests, a finding that could boost givebacks to investors through shareholder repurchases and dividend hikes.
Shares of Facebook parent Meta rose 0.6 per cent and touched an all-time record as the company extends an aggressive recruitment drive of top artificial intelligence talent, luring some experts from other companies with US$100 million bonuses.
Moderna rose 1.6 per cent after announcing positive results from a phase three clinical trial of a vaccine for seasonal influenza.