Wall Street opens February higher

US stock indices rose during Monday’s trading as markets awaited additional quarterly earnings results from major companies.

Later this week, earnings are due from several key firms, including Alphabet and Amazon. Investors are also watching for the January monthly jobs report scheduled for release on Friday.

US President Donald Trump announced the nomination of Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve, a move that has helped ease concerns about the central bank’s independence in managing monetary policy.

Warsh previously served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and is known for his hawkish stance on inflation. Although he may lean toward supporting near-term rate cuts in line with Trump’s preferences, markets believe he is unlikely to follow presidential guidance on monetary policy in all cases.

In trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.9%, or 477 points, at 49,369 as of 17:23 GMT. The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, or 44 points, to 6,983, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8%, or 179 points, to 23,641.