US stocks closed higher on gains in UnitedHealth shares and weaker-than-expected NFP jobs data.
The development reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) is likely to cut interest rates to stimulate economic growth.
UnitedHealth shares jumped after the company said it expected Medicare enrollment to be in line with forecasts, potentially boosting government payments to insurers.
The US government said the economy is expected to create 911,000 fewer jobs through March than initially estimated, indicating that job growth had stalled before President Donald Trump introduced global tariffs.
In addition, the latest NFP jobs data for July and August also pointed to weaker labor market conditions.
According to CME FedWatch, financial markets are now expecting a 25 basis point interest rate cut at the Fed meeting next week, with futures pointing to a nearly 10% chance of a 50 basis point cut.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.43% to 45,711.34, the S&P 500 rose 0.27% to 6,512.61, while the tech-focused Nasdaq rose 0.27% to 21,879.49.
Investors are also awaiting the producer inflation (PPI) report on Wednesday at 8.30pm Malaysia time (MYT) and consumer inflation (CPI) data on Thursday at 8.30pm MYT to assess the impact of Trump's tariffs and weigh the possibility of more aggressive interest rate cuts.
Meanwhile, Apple shares fell 1.5% after the launch of new iPhones that fell short of investor expectations.
Nebius shares jumped nearly 50% after the artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure company signed a $17.4 billion deal with Microsoft, while rival CoreWeave rose 7%.
Trading volume on US exchanges recorded $15.6 billion, compared to an average of $16.1 billion over a full 20 trading days.
