Foreign Markets

The S&P 500 also climbed 22.99 points (0.4%) to 6,074.08, while the narrower Dow bucked the uptrend and fell 110.58 points (0.3%) to 43,717.48. The surge by the Nasdaq came amid significant strength among semiconductor stocks with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumping by 2.1%.

Broadcom (AVGO) extended the surge seen last Friday, while Micron (MU) also posted a standout gain after JPMorgan said it expects the chipmaker to report strong fiscal first quarter results. Networking stocks were considerably strong extending upward, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 2%.

The Fed is widely expected to continue cutting interest rates, with CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicating a 95.4% chance the central bank will lower rates by another 25 bps. Traders are likely to pay close attention to the Fed's accompanying statement as well as officials' latest economic projections including their forecasts for rates.

Oil stocks declined amid an decrease by the price of crude oil, dragging the NYSE Arca Oil Index down by 2.9%. Telecom, oil service and natural gas stocks also were notably weak, partly offsetting the strength in the tech sector.

Asia-Pacific stocks tumbled. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index closed just below the unchanged and China's Shanghai Composite Index edged down by 0.2% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 0.9%. The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.7%, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both fell by 0.5%.

In the bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction over the course of the session before closing roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by less than a bps to 4.39%.

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