NEW YORK, June 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks closed with mild gains on Monday, as investors eyed more clues for rate cuts ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 22.92 points, or 0.09 percent, to 26,112.53. The S&P 500 rose 2.69 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,889.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 48.37 points, or 0.62 percent, to 7,845.02.
Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded higher around the closing bell, with the communication services sector up over 1 percent, leading the gainers.
Shares of Pfizer rose nearly 0.3 percent, after the New York-based pharmaceutical giant announced Monday that it would purchase the Colorado-based pharmaceutical firm Array Biopharma in a deal valued at 10.64 billion U.S. dollars.
The acquisition will allow the U.S. largest drug maker to reach Array's approved drugs for skin cancer and the targeted cancer medicines in its pipeline.
Shares of Sotheby's sharply rose 58.6 percent, after the New York-based auction house announced Monday that it would be acquired by BidFair USA, in a deal valued at 3.7 billion dollars.
BidFair USA is owned by French media and telecom entrepreneur and art collector Patrick Drahi. It will pay 57 dollars per share in cash, a 61 percent premium to the company's closing share price last Friday.
The U.S. central bank is set to hold a key policy meeting on June 18-19. Wall Street has been searching for clues about the Fed's possible moves in the future.
Market expectations point to interest rate cuts this year to shore up the U.S. economy, amid concerns that escalating trade tensions have been weighing on growth pace.
On the economic front, manufacturing firms in New York State reported "a sharp turn downward" in business activity, according to the June 2019 Empire State Manufacturing Survey released on Monday.
The general business conditions index plummeted 26 points, its largest monthly decline on record, to minus 8.6, marking the first negative reading in more than two years.
The new orders index tumbled 22 points to minus 12, indicating a decline in orders. While the shipment index fell seven points to 9.7, pointing to a modest increase in shipment. Enditem
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