S&P 500 Rises; Bitcoin Holds Below $90,000 — WSJ
By Rebecca FengStock indexes gained early Monday, boosted by hopes the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month.Over the weekend, Boston Fed President Susan Collins said she didn't see a strong need for a cut in December. But expectations for policy easing remain elevated after her New York Fed counterpart, John Williams, said Friday that a "near-term" reduction could be warranted.The chance of a rate cut rose to around three-quarters on Monday, according to interest-rate futures prices tracked by CME Group, a jump from around 40% before Williams spoke, and 71% on Friday.Fear of an artificial-intelligence bubble appears to have taken a back seat, at least for now. Shares of chip makers Advanced Micro Devices and Micron rose, as did Google parent Alphabet. The Nasdaq composite led gains among the major U.S. indexes, up nearly 1.5%.Overseas, European defense stocks fell after the White House hailed progress following peace talks with Ukraine on Sunday. European natural-gas futures dropped.In recent trading:Bitcoin traded at about $86,000. Last week, the cryptocurrency had its worst weekly loss since February.In Asia, Alibaba shares rallied, bolstering Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index. Japanese markets were shut for a holiday.This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).