Each of Wall Street's three major averages kicked off the trading week by closing at records on Monday as signs pointed to progress between the United States and China on a trade truce, while a round of merger deals also helped buoy sentiment.
A Chinese state-backed tabloid said Beijing and Washington were "very close" to an initial pact, which lifted trade-sensitive semiconductor stocks, including Applied Materials Inc., up 4.18 percent and Lam Research Corp., which gained 2.68 percent. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index jumped 2.43 percent and was on pace for its best day in just over three weeks.
Nvidia Corp. rose 4.89 percent and paced the gains on the chip index as Morgan Stanley upgraded its shares to "overweight" from "equal weight.
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