NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks rose on Monday in a positive start to the week. Investors were buoyed by hopes of a 25-basis points rate cut, widely anticipated by the market.

The tech sector did best with Facebook and Alphabet, the Google parent, expected to report later this week.

At the close of trading Monday, the Dow Jones industrials were up 17.70 points or 0.07% at 27,171.90.

The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite jumped 57.65 points or 0.71% to 8,204.14.

The Standard and Poor's 500 rose 8.42 points or 0.18% to 2,985.03.

The U.S. dollar remained well bid. The euro was soft, barely able to hold its head above the 1.1200 level. It last traded at 1.1207 nearing the New York close on Monday.

The British pound was quoted at 1.2477, while the Japanese yen traded at 107.87.

The Swiss franc eased to 0.9822.

The Canadian dollar dived to 1.3114. The Australian dollar was slightly weaker at 0.7035. The New Zealand dollar fell to 0.6765.

In overseas equity markets it was a black-ink day in Europe, while in Asia the traditional share markets, despite a roaring successful debut for the new Nasdaq-equivalent stock exchange in Shanghai, were slightly weaker.

The FTSE 100 in London rose 0.08%. The German Dax appreciated by 0.24%, while in Paris, the CAX 40 climbed by 0.26%.

On Asian markets the biggest action was in Shanghai when the country's new innovation and tehnology related stock exchange made its debut. Star Market opened for trading for the first time and the 25 initial companies listed were sought after in frenzied buying. Many of the companies saw their IPO price more than doubled, with one stock risiong 524%.

On the broader Shanghai Composite index, the benchmark index fell 37.23 points or 1.27% to 2,886.97.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 394.14 points or 1.37% to 28,371.26.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo shed 50.20 points or 0.23% to 21,416.79.

The Australian All Ords dropped 5.00 points or 0.07% to 6,781.20.