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Survey: US business activity steady in September

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Intel ( INTC ) gains on report of Apollo's investment offer

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GM slips after Bernstein downgrades stock

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Indexes up: Dow 0.15%; S&P 500 0.28%; Nasdaq 0.14%

(Adds market details after close of trading, updates prices)

By Echo Wang

Sept 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed modestly higher

on Monday as investors assessed whether a trend will develop in

the week following the Federal Reserve's rate cut.

The gains came amid comments from Fed policymakers and

steady factory activity data, building on last week's sharp

market rally after the central bank's decision to lower interest

rates.

The Fed's pivotal move last week pushed major indexes to

monthly gains, defying the historical trend of September as a

weak month for equities.

Comments on Monday from three reserve bank presidents were

the main focus as investors searched for clues on why the

central bank kicked off its easing cycle with an outsized 50

basis-point cut.

Fed officials including Raphael Bostic, Neel Kashkari and

Austan Goolsbee supported the central bank's last rate cut and

voiced support for more cuts in the rest of the year.

Trader bets, as per the CME Group's FedWatch tool, initially

favored a larger Fed move at its upcoming November meeting,

after Governor Christopher Waller on Friday flagged that

upcoming inflation data could undershoot the Fed's 2% target.

However, the bets have swayed since then and now appear to

be a coin-toss, with markets expecting a total reduction of 74

basis points by year-end, according to LSEG data.

On the data front, U.S. business activity remained steady in

September, while average prices for goods and services increased

at the fastest pace in six months, potentially signalling a rise

in inflation in the months ahead.

"I think investors are still just sort of taking a

wait-and-see attitude, if indeed a soft landing is the most

likely outcome." said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist

of CFRA Research in New York.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 61.29 points,

or 0.15%, to 42,124.65, the S&P 500 gained 16.02 points,

or 0.28%, to 5,718.57 and the Nasdaq Composite gained

25.95 points, or 0.14%, to 17,974.27.

Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were higher. Energy stocks

led gains with a 1.31% rise, while healthcare stocks

declined 0.25%.

Among rate-sensitive growth stocks, Tesla jumped

4.65%, while Meta Platforms ( META ) rose 0.6% after Citigroup

lifted its price target on the stock.

The Russell 2000 index, tracking small caps, was off

0.25%.

All eyes are on Friday's personal consumption expenditures

figure for August - the Fed's preferred inflation gauge.

Analysts say this release will be the week's most significant

catalyst.

Among top movers, Intel ( INTC ) rose 3.05% after a media

report said Apollo offered to make an investment of as

much as $5 billion in the chipmaker.

General Motors ( GM ) slipped 1.72% after Bernstein

downgraded the carmaker's stock to "market perform" from

"outperform."

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.48-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE. There were 505 new highs and 36 new lows on the

NYSE.

The S&P 500 posted 62 new 52-week highs and one new low

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 80 new highs and 123 new

lows.