Dow Jones, S&P 500 score new record

US stocks rallied on Monday, extending the upward trend and posting gains for the second week in a row, as the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in four years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high for the third session in a row, gaining 0.15%, or 61 points, to reach 42,124 points.

S&P 500 rose 0.3%, or 16 points, to 5,718 points, the index's second record close in September. The Nasdaq Composite also inched up 0.15%, or 25 points, to end the day at 17,974 points.

As for the European indices, STOXX Europe 600 advanced 0.4% to 516.3 points, offset by the decline of the banking stocks.

FTSE 100 gained 0.35% to 8,259 points. CAC 40 inched up 0.1% to 7,508 points. DAX 40 increased 0.7%, or 126 points, to 18,846 points.

In Japan, markets closed for the Autumnal Equinox, with trading set to resume on tomorrow, Sept. 25.

In the oil market, futures contracts for Brent crude for November delivery declined by 0.8%, or $0.59, to $73.90 per barrel after touching the $75.17 level.

Meanwhile, prices of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for November delivery fell 0.9%, or $0.63, to $70.37 per barrel.

As for gold, futures prices for the yellow metal for December delivery inched up 0.25%, or $6.3 to $2,652 per ounce, marking a new record for the third straight session.

The headline S&P Global Flash US PMI Composite Output Index registered 54.4 in September, down slightly from 54.6 in August but rounding off the strongest quarter since the first three months of 2022.