The New York Stock Exchange started Monday morning in the green, setting new records in a climate of optimism about corporate earnings despite growing uncertainty surrounding Fed policy.

In late morning trading, the Dow Jones advanced 0.5% to 38,032.8 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2% to 15,345.7 points. The broader S&P 500 index gained 0.2% to 4,851.7 points.

All three indexes hit new all-time highs in the course of the morning.

Investors are shifting their focus from the growing uncertainties surrounding the timing and scale of the Federal Reserve's next rate cuts to earnings.

The week ahead will see a succession of earnings reports from 75 of the S&P's 500 constituents, representing 17% of the index's total market capitalization.

The performance of several Dow Jones stocks is on the agenda, including Visa, Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson.

But investors will be looking above all at the results of the big names in high-tech - such as Tesla, Netflix, Texas Instruments, IBM and Intel - to see if Wall Street still has room for improvement.

The technology sector remains by far the best performer of the S&P's 10 major sector indices since the start of the year, with a gain that has already reached 5% since January 1.

Since the start of the earnings season, 83% of companies have reported better-than-expected results, but analysts are particularly pleased with the quality of forecasts for 2024.

Activity has been rather restrained on the bond market, with the yield on 10-year bonds falling to 4.08% on the back of an indicator calling for further monetary easing.

The index of US leading indicators continued to decline in December, falling by 0.1% to 103.1 last month, continuing to suggest the risk of an imminent recession.

The foreign exchange market was no more lively, although the dollar's continued strength against the euro, which fell back towards 1.0885, did not prevent oil from rallying, with WTI up 1.5% at $74.5.

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