Updated at 4:30 PM EDT by Rob Lenihan

Stocks finished modestly higher on Monday as investors looked to a key week on Wall Street with a focus on jobs data, a host of corporate earnings and a Federal Reserve rate decision.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 146 points, or 0.38%, to 38,386.09, while the S&P 500 gained 16 points, or 0.32%, to 5,116.17 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 55 points, or 0.35%, to 15,983.08.

Tesla shares soared, finishing up 15.3% to $194.05, after the electric vehicle won an key endorsement for its driver-assistance technology in China and reportedly inked a partnership deal with Baidu to help with domestic mapping and navigation.

However, other big tech names like Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet and Facebook parent Meta Platforms all finished lower.

Regarding the Fed, David Doyle, head of economics at Macquarie, said he expected the FOMC to leave the fed funds rate unchanged this week.

“The statement language is likely to be altered in a hawkish direction, reflecting economic developments in recent weeks, particularly the strong inflation readings for March,” he said.

Doyle added that Powell should echo this sentiment in his press conference.

“He is likely to emphasize a delay in the timing of any rate cuts relative to what was signaled in March," he said. "He could also allude to the possibility of a more ambiguous forward looking policy path."

Updated at 1:36 PM EDT

Yen Watch

The yen hit a fresh 1990 low against the U.S. dollar Monday, hitting 106.245 earlier in the session to extend its slide against the greenback this year to around 11%.

Japan's Ministry of Finance, which has warned it could intervene to stop "disorderly" moves in the foreign exchange market, although government offices and trading floors were closed today owing to that country's Showa Day holiday.

Updated at 10:38 AM EDT

Shiny Apple

Apple shares jumped to a one-month high in early trading after Alliance Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi boosted his rating on the stock to 'outperform', from 'market perform' heading into the tech giant's March quarter earnings later this week.

Apple shares were last marked 2.7% higher at $174.80 each, a move that trims the stock's 2024 decline to around 5.8%.

Related: Analyst revamps Apple stock rating ahead of key earnings report

Updated at 9:35 AM EDT

Solid open

The S&P 500 added 20 points, or 0.4%, in the opening minutes of trading with the Dow gaining 114 points. The Nasdaq was up 83 points, or 0.53%. with Tesla rising 10.8% and Apple up 2.4%.

"Last week Big Tech enthusiasm outweighed concerns about sticky inflation," said Chris Larkin, managing director for trading and investing at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley.

"This week we’ll find out if Amazon and Apple can keep that momentum going, but traders will also be taking the temperature of the latest jobs data and what the Fed has to say about inflation and rate cuts," he added.

Updated at 7:55 AM EDT

Tesla's China boost

Tesla shares are on pace for another massive opening-bell boost after the carmaker won an key endorsement for its driver-assistance technology in China and reportedly inked a partnership deal with Baidu to help with domestic mapping and navigation.

Tesla shares were marked 11.7% higher in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $187.82 each.

Related: Tesla shares surge as Elon Musk returns from China with FSD 'Game Changer'

Stock Market Today

Stocks ended firmly higher on April 26, extending the best weekly gain for the S&P 500 since early November, following tepid inflation data for March and stronger-than-expected earnings from megacap tech giants Alphabet  (GOOG)  and Microsoft  (MSFT) .

Treasury yields were also on the back foot during that session, and eased further in overnight trading, following a mixed set of auctions and a reading of the Fed's preferred inflation gauge that was largely in line with Wall Street forecasts.

Related: Nvidia set to capture billions as big tech boosts AI spending

Benchmark 10-year-note yields were last marked at 4.624% heading into the start of the New York trading session, while 2-year notes held at 4.971%.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was marked 0.26% lower at 105.667 heading into the start of the Fed's two-day policy meeting on April 30.

Rate traders aren't expecting any changes to the central bank's base lending late, and they have pared bets on reductions later in the year as price pressures remain elevated and the economy continues to expand.

The CME Group's FedWatch tool suggests traders see the first and only rate cut of the year coming in November.

Jobs data this week, however, will go a long way toward defining those forecasts. Investors are braced for employment-cost data, Jolts job-openings figures, payroll-processing group ADP's National Employment Report and the Labor Department's nonfarm-payrolls report for April, all over the coming days.

Wall Street will also navigate the busiest earnings session of the year this week, with updates from 175 S&P 500 companies including Amazon  (AMZN)  on April 30 and Apple  (AAPL)  on May 2.

Collective first quarter S&P 500 profits are forecast to rise 5.6% from last year to $435.3 billion, according to LSEG data, with profits over the three months ending in June rising 10.4% to $447.4 billion.

Heading into the start of the trading day, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500, which is still down 3% for the month, are priced for a 12 point opening-bell gain. Those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average are indicating a 70 point bump.

The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is set for a 60 point advance, thanks in part to an 8.7% surge in Tesla  (TSLA)  tied to its winning informal approval for its driver assistance technology in China.

More Wall Street Analysts:

• Analyst unveils new Nike price target ahead of big summer for sports

• Analysts weigh in on Google-parent Alphabet’s stock after cloud event

• Analysts revamp Disney stock price target after proxy fight

In overseas markets, Europe's Stoxx 600 rose 0.26% in early Frankfurt trading, while the FTSE 100 gained 0.57% in London.

Overnight in Asia the MSCI ex-Japan regional benchmark was marked 0.91% higher into the close of trading.

Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024