Wall Street pushes deeper into record terrain, fueled by hopes for interest rate cuts

After climbing to record highs last week, Wall Street opened higher Monday as corporate earnings season kicks off.

In early trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.5%, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.4%. On Friday, the S&P 500 rallied 1.2% to a record of 4,840, while the Dow also hit new heights, surging nearly 400 points, or 1.1%, to reach its second record high since December.

Wall Street's recent run-up has been driven in part by expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in the first half of the year amid a steady decline in inflation. The Fed has hinted that rate cuts are coming, though some officials have hinted they may begin later than the market is hoping for.