NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks surged on Monday, regaining some of last week’s losses, as markets showed cautious optimism ahead of a key inflation data release and closely watched Federal Reserve meeting.

Observers expect consumer price increases to slow in November, adding to signs that red-hot inflation is finally easing, while the US central bank is anticipated to announce a smaller interest rate hike after a two-day policy meeting starting on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.6 per cent to finish at 34,005.04, while the S&P 500 rose 1.4 per cent to land at 3,990.56.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.3 per cent as well to 11,143.74.

“There was a lot of positive news to start the week and that helped push equities higher,” said Mr Edward Moya of the Oanda trading platform.

In particular, a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York indicated that inflation expectations are coming down, while biopharmaceutical firm Amgen announced an agreement to acquire Horizon Therapeutics – the biggest deal this year in the health sector.

Horizon Therapeutics shares spiked 15.5 per cent following the news.

In the aviation sector, Boeing was boosted by hopes it might secure a massive aircraft order from Air India, Mr Moya added.

Meanwhile, markets digested remarks by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said in an interview on CBS News on Sunday that while recession is a risk, it is not something that is necessary to bring inflation down. AFP