01:48 PM EDT, 03/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark stock indexes rose, led by communication services, and government bond yields advanced in midday trading on Monday.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.9% to 5,161.2, with the Nasdaq Composite up 1% to 16,126.3 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.4% higher at 38,853.9. All the sectors were gaining with communication services and consumer staples in the lead.

The Federal Reserve's monetary policy-setting committee will likely meet Tuesday, with a decision on interest rates due Wednesday. The markets are tracking the meeting, where the Fed will probably keep borrowing costs steady and provide cues on its monetary policy path this year, a research note from D.A. Davidson said. The dot plot may downshift from 75 basis points of cuts this year to two, given how close the dispersion of the dots between the two estimates was at the December meeting.

Following January's hotter-than-expected inflation data, investors were expecting February to usher in some relief, but to no avail, according to a note from Stifel. Back-to-back months of acceleration in inflation have offered no further evidence of a disinflationary trend.

"While the Fed hasn't entirely shelved the prospect of a near-term rate reduction, any further increase in the inflation rate will not only keep the Fed sidelined for longer, but also perhaps reinvigorate the conversation for additional rate hikes," Stifel Chief Economist Lindsey Piegza said in the note.

The US Treasury two-year yield rose 2.4 basis points to 4.75%, and the 10-year yield climbed 4.2 basis points to 4.35%.

In economic news, the National Association of Home Builders' monthly housing market index rose for the fourth consecutive month to 51 in March from 48 in February, compared with expectations for no change in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The index was well above a reading of 44 a year earlier.

In company news, Apple ( AAPL ) is in talks to build Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google Gemini artificial intelligence engine into the iPhone, Bloomberg News reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the situation. Alphabet was up nearly 5% intraday, among the top performers on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Apple's ( AAPL ) shares rose 1.6% intraday, among the top gainers on the Dow Jones.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.9% to $82.56 per barrel intraday.

Iraq will lower its crude exports in the coming months to compensate for production that exceeds its OPEC+ quota since January, media outlets reported Monday. The country will cut crude exports to 3.3 million barrels per day, Reuters reported, citing Iraq's oil ministry.

Gold rose 0.1% to $2,163.8 per troy ounce, while silver slid 0.5% to $25.27.