Wall Street builds on Friday's gains, Nasdaq and S&P 500 both up more than 1%

After starting the day on a mixed note, major equity indexes in the United States gathered momentum and extended last Friday's rally as investors are hoping for a positive outcome from this week's trade talks between the U.S. and China. In an interview with CNBC earlier, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross stated that the U.S. and China were likely to reach a good agreement on immediate trade issues. 

Commenting on today's market action so far, "We’re looking at commentary from the Fed suggesting they’re going to be flexible around rate hikes, there’s positive commentary on the U.S. trade war. That positive sentiment is forward looking,” Christopher Anselmo, director at Nasdaq IR Intelligence, told Reuters.

As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.9% on the day while the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 were adding 1.2% and 1.4%, respectively. Out of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, only utilities is in the negative territory and the consumer discretionary leads the rally by gaining more than 2.5%.