Dow Jones settles above 50,000

US stock indices mostly rose during Monday trading, extending their strong gains with support from the technology sector, while the Dow Jones index held above the 50,000-point level, which it closed above for the first time in its history last Friday.

In the current week, the US January jobs report is due for release after being postponed from last Friday, in addition to upcoming consumer price data.

Traders are also maintaining bets that the Federal Reserve will move toward monetary easing later this year.

According to the CME Group FedWatch tool, the probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s next meeting on March 18 stands at 15.8%, down from 18.4% on Friday.

In trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped by less than 0.1% (about 17 points) to 50,098 as of 17:33 GMT. The S&P 500 index rose 0.6% (about 40 points) to 6,972, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.1% (about 245 points) to 23,276.