While you were sleeping: Dow rises, Apple surges on Shazam deal

Wall Street moved higher, while the US dollar and Treasuries fell, as Federal Reserve policy makers are expected to be gearing up to raise interest rates for the third time this year.

The Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to starts its two-day meeting on Tuesday, during which it is widely expected to hike interest rates. Investors will scrutinise the FOMC's statement and forecasts, as well as a press conference by chairwoman Janet Yellen, on Wednesday.

"Coming off a week of pretty good economic data, investors will certainly take a close look at what the Fed has to do, what they say coming out of a meeting," Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR in Boston, told Reuters

At the close of trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 56.87 points, or 0.2%, to 24,836.03. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.5% to 6875.08, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.3% to 2659.99.

Investors shrugged off an explosion in Manhattan in what authorities called an "attempted terrorist attack."

"When you see one of these events in a major city, you get a little cautious," Michael Antonelli, managing director, institutional sales trading at Robert W Baird in Milwaukee, told Reuters. "But it's never enough to really rout a stock market intraday."

The Dow rose as gains by Apple and Walt Disney, up 1.9% and 1.7% respectively, outweighed declines in Home Depot and Travelers, down 0.8% and 0.7% respectively.

Apple said to pay $US400m for Shazam
Apple said it agreed to buy the UK's Shazam, a music identification service. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed but a person familiar with the situation said Apple was paying about $US400 million for the startup, Bloomberg reported.

"We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining Apple. Since the launch of the App Store, Shazam has consistently ranked as one of the most popular apps for iOS,"" the company said in a statement, according to media reports.

"Apple Music and Shazam are a natural fit, sharing a passion for music discovery and delivering great music experiences to our users," it said.

Investors will also scrutinise any fresh developments on the Trump administration's tax reform bill.

"Further work on tax reform from a conference perspective and there will probably be issues that get leaked out as they try to reconcile the Senate and House bills," Ernie Cecilia, the chief investment officer at Bryn Mawr Trust, told Bloomberg.

"That will be key and whether or not there are any significant changes."

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index fell less than 0.1%. Germany's DAX Index fell 0.2%, France's CAC 40 Index also shed 0.2% and the UK's FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.8%.

(BusinessDesk)