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Indexes up: Dow 0.01%, S&P 500 0.72%, Nasdaq up 1.49%

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Deutsche Bank sees S&P 500 rising to 8,000 by 2026 end

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Bristol Myers gains after rivals positive late-stage data

(Updates with opening prices)

By Johann M Cherian and Pranav Kashyap

Nov 24 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose on

Monday, led by mega-cap stocks, as growing bets on a Federal

Reserve rate cut in December fueled gains and investors hunted

fresh data for clues on the central bank's next move.

Dovish remarks from influential New York Fed President John

Williams offered some respite on the policy front last week but

was also a reflection on how divided policymakers were ahead of

December's FOMC meeting.

Investors are pricing in a nearly 80% chance the central

bank will deliver a 25-basis-point interest rate cut next month,

compared with 42% a week earlier, according to CME Group's

FedWatch Tool.

"The dominant theme for now remains uncertainty. We're going

to remain in a choppy market up until December 10 when we get

the Fed's decision and the commentary that goes around it," said

Lilian Chovin, head of asset allocation at Coutts.

Mega-cap stocks were in the lead, with Alphabet up

5.7% and Tesla gaining 4.4%. Four of the 11 S&P 500

sub-sectors were higher.

At 09:44 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 6.02 points, or 0.01%, to 46,251.43, the S&P 500

gained 47.79 points, or 0.72%, to 6,650.78 and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 332.20 points, or 1.49%, to 22,605.29.

CONSUMER RESILIENCE IN SPOTLIGHT AS HOLIDAY SEASON KICKS OFF

September retail sales and producer prices data are expected

this week, ahead of the holiday shopping season that starts with

the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, extending into Black

Friday and Cyber Monday.

"We're going to look at spending at different levels of

wealth to see whether different types of consumers are holding

off better than others," Chovin said.

Spending trends are coming under sharper scrutiny as a

flurry of layoff announcements, rising unemployment data and

U.S. tariffs cloud consumer sentiment. Even so, the National

Retail Federation expects holiday sales to top $1 trillion for

the first time.

Earnings from consumer-oriented companies such as Best Buy ( BBY )

are expected later this week.

TECH VALUATION WORRIES PERSIST

Despite AI-bellwether Nvidia's ( NVDA ) strong forecast last

week, ballooning valuations of the tech sector has plagued

markets for much of this month.

Stocks hit a volatile patch this month as investors worried

the AI boom may be morphing into a bubble, while a prolonged

U.S. government shutdown starved Wall Street of data it relies

on to gauge the health of the world's largest economy.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were headed for monthly losses in

November, and were on track for their steepest declines since

fears of a tariff hike sparked a selloff in March.

Deutsche Bank lifted some of the gloom, projecting the S&P

500 would surge to 8,000 by the end of 2026, citing

resilient corporate earnings and AI-driven gains - the most

bullish call among major global brokerages.

Meanwhile, Bristol-Myers gained 3.8% after European

rival Bayer unveiled positive late-stage data for its

cardiovascular drug.

Some U.S. health insurers and hospital operators gained

after a report said Trump's health plan could see subsidy

extensions for two years.

Centene ( CNC ) rose 6.8%, while Oscar health

surged 19%.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.01-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE, while advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a

1.48-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and one new low,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 53 new highs and 43 new

lows.