04:34 PM EDT, 08/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes closed higher Monday as markets awaited this week's key corporate earnings and the annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.4% to 17,876.8, while the S&P 500 rose 1% to 5,608.3. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.6% to 40,896.5. All sectors notched gains, led by communication services and technology.

Target ( TGT ) , Intuit (INTU), TJX (TJX), Lowe's (LOW) and Analog Devices ( ADI ) are among the major companies scheduled to report quarterly financial results later in the week.

In company news, Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) shares rose 4.5%, the top gainer on the Nasdaq and the second-best on the S&P 500, after the chipmaker agreed to acquire artificial intelligence infrastructure solutions company ZT Systems for roughly $4.9 billion.

McDonald's (MCD) was the best performer on the Dow, up 3.3%, as Evercore ISI adjusted its price target on the fast-food heavyweight's stock to $320 from $300 while maintaining its outperform rating.

HP (HPQ) likely faces limited earnings and valuation upside, with catalysts "largely priced in" and second-half personal computer demand trending a bit weaker than previously forecast, Morgan Stanley said in a Monday note to clients. The PC maker's shares slid 3.6%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500.

The US 10-year yield fell 1.7 basis points to 3.88%, while the two-year rate rose one basis point to 4.07%.

The two-day Jackson Hole symposium is scheduled to kick off Thursday, with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell due to speak Friday.

Powell's remarks will be a key focus for markets this week amid expectations that policymakers could lower their benchmark lending rate by up to 50 basis points next month, Oppenheimer Asset Management said in a Monday note to clients.

"With many folks now looking for a cut of as much as 50 (basis points) in September, a degree of hesitancy in the chair's remarks could reintroduce some volatility into the market ahead of next weekend," the brokerage wrote. A 25-basis-point interest-rate cut next month would be more likely as last week's initial jobless claims and continuing claims data, along with the advance retail sales report, indicated economic resilience, according to the note.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 2.9% to $74.46 a barrel Monday. Prices dropped as concerns about Chinese demand weighed on market sentiment, D.A. Davidson said in a note to clients.

Separately, Hamas and Islamic Jihad's armed wings took responsibility for a late-Sunday bomb blast near a synagogue in Tel Aviv, Reuters reported Monday. The Israeli police and the Shin Bet intelligence agency reportedly described the incident as a terrorist attack.

Gold rose 0.2% to $2,542.30 per troy ounce, while silver gained 2.1% to $29.87 per ounce.