04:53 PM EDT, 07/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at an all-time high Monday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said policymakers won't wait for inflation to fall to 2% before reducing interest rates.

The Dow rose 0.5% to 40,211.7, while the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.4% to 18,472.6. The S&P 500 advanced 0.3% to 5,631.2. Energy and financials led the gainers among sectors, while utilities saw the steepest decline.

Powell said the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee won't wait for inflation to reach its 2% target before lowering rates, as its monetary policy works with "long and variable lags," CNBC reported. Instead, policymakers are seeking "greater confidence" that inflation will return to the 2% level, Powell reportedly said at the Economic Club of Washington, DC.

Communications by Federal Reserve officials around a potential interest rate cut in September are expected to start in earnest this week following a "pronounced step down" in shelter cost growth for June, UBS Securities said in a note e-mailed Monday.

Separately, Stifel said inflation in the US continues to be "uneven and bumpy at best" despite recent signs of improvement. "With three months of accelerating price pressures at the start of the year, at this point, two months of more favorable data in May and June is not enough to justify a change in policy, at least not yet," the firm said in a note to clients.

In a bid to tame inflation, the FOMC increased its benchmark lending rate by 525 basis points from March 2022 through July 2023, but has since kept interest rates unchanged, with its latest pause coming last month.

The US 10-year yield rose 4.4 basis points to 4.23% Monday, while the two-year rate was little changed at 4.46%.

In economic news, New York manufacturing activity contracted less than expected this month as orders largely held steady, while expectations cooled, the New York Fed reported.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 0.4% to $81.86 a barrel Monday.

In company news, Charter Communications ( CHTR ) shares rose 4.4%, among the top gainers on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, as Wolfe Research raised its price target on the stock to $350 from $310 while maintaining its outperform rating.

Goldman Sachs' ( GS ) second-quarter earnings more than doubled on a yearly basis, driven by double-digit gains in investment banking fees and asset and wealth management revenue. The lender's shares increased 2.6%, the second-best performer on the Dow.

CenterPoint Energy ( CNP ) saw one of the steepest declines on the S&P 500, down 6.7%, after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott demanded an investigation into the company's "inability to restore power" in the Houston area after Hurricane Beryl made landfall.

Macy's (M) said it terminated go-private discussions with Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital due to financing uncertainty and value concerns. The department store operator's shares tumbled nearly 12%.

Gold rose 0.3% to $2,427 per troy ounce, while silver fell 0.8% to $30.93 per ounce.