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Peabody Energy falls; will buy Anglo American's coal mines

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Robinhood gains after brokerage upgrade

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Macy's slides after delaying Q3 report on accounting issue

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Indexes up: Dow 0.92%, S&P 500 0.38%, Nasdaq 0.45%

(Updates with Russell hitting a record high, quote)

By Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal

Nov 25 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes gained on Monday, with the

small-cap Russell 2000 index hitting an all-time high as

investors cheered Scott Bessent's nomination as Treasury

secretary and monitored talks of a ceasefire to the Middle East

conflict.

President-elect Donald Trump ended weeks of speculation when

he named his choice late on Friday, with some investment

strategists saying Bessent could take measures to restrain

further government borrowing, even as he follows through on

fiscal and trade campaign pledges.

Markets also focused on

talks of a ceasefire deal

between Israel and Lebanon. Oil prices slid, dragging the

energy index lower by 1%.

At 10:58 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 405.42 points, or 0.92%, to 44,701.93, the S&P 500

gained 22.42 points, or 0.38%, to 5,991.76 and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 82.63 points, or 0.45%, to 19,085.54.

The small-cap index hit an all-time high of

2,464.90 and was last up 2.4%, eclipsing the high it touched

three years ago.

"We're definitely seeing a broadening out of leadership

in the market," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park

Investments in New York.

"Areas that were lagging for most of this year are

beginning to outperform, such as the small cap and the mid cap

stocks, not just due to Trump, but also due to the Federal

Reserve cutting rates."

Expectations that Trump, along with a Republican

Congress, can make good on his promise of lower taxes, import

tariff hikes and less rigid regulations have been the latest

tailwinds for small-cap companies. Small-caps have been in the

spotlight since the U.S. Federal Reserve commenced its monetary

policy easing cycle in September.

The benchmark S&P 500 was trading above 6,000

points, and has jumped more than 4% since Nov. 4. The Russell

2000 index has surged more than 8% in the same period.

Barclays raised its full-year 2025 forecast for the S&P

500.

However, concerns remain that inflationary pressures

could spike and slow the pace of the Fed's monetary policy

easing.

Investors have recently swung between expectation of a

pause versus a further cut in interest rates at the Federal

Reserve's December meeting. The CME Group's FedWatch Tool shows

a near 56% probability the central bank will deliver another 25

basis point cut.

Big banks gained, with Goldman Sachs ( GS ) rising 0.44%,

JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM ) up 0.40%, while the regional banks

index surged 3.6%.

Consumer discretionary stocks led sectoral gains,

aided by Amazon.com's ( AMZN ) 1.5% rise.

Later this Thanksgiving week, the personal consumption

expenditure report, the central bank's preferred inflation

gauge, will be on investors' radar.

Macy's fell 2% after the department-store operator

delayed the publication

of its third-quarter results due to an accounting issue.

Bath & Body Works ( BBWI ) raised

its forecast for full-year

adjusted profit, sending the retailer's shares up 17%.

Retail trading platform Robinhood Markets advanced

5.3% after Morgan Stanley ( MS ) raised its rating on the stock.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 4.36-to-1

ratio on the NYSE and by a 3.46-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 97 new 52-week highs and no new lows,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 301 new highs and 37 new

lows.