Stocks rise as focus turns to interest rates

U.S. stocks finished higher and the S&P 500 Index rose to a record, as investors put off big bets before a series of key central bank meetings this week. Oil climbed to $58 a barrel.

Most major equity gauges advanced, led by more than 1 percent increases in media, telephone and technology hardware shares. Earlier, index futures briefly erased gains after an explosion rocked midtown Manhattan in what authorities have labeled a terrorist attack. Treasuries fell with gold, and the dollar was up slightly.

In Europe, stocks struggled for direction. Bonds rose and the euro climbed. The pound slipped, as some of the promises made to clinch a breakthrough Brexit deal last week started to fray. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 reclaimed a 26-year high.

Monetary policy takes center stage this week, with the Fed expected to raise interest rates at its meeting on Wednesday and the European Central Bank set to reveal details of plans to taper asset purchases on Thursday. The Bank of England and Swiss National Bank also meet. With the global economy heading into its strongest period since 2011, Wall Street economists are bracing investors for the biggest tightening in more than a decade.

“We have a pretty busy week here,” Ernie Cecilia, the chief investment officer at Bryn Mawr Trust Co., said by phone. “I don’t want to dismiss what’s going on in New York, that’s not my point, but it looks like until we know what’s involved, it looks like I’ll call it under control, whatever that might mean. We have a number of things this week. Further work on tax reform from a conference perspective and there will probably be issues that get leaked out as they try to reconcile the Senate and House bills. That will be key and whether or not there are any significant changes.”