By Gunjan Banerji and Nathan Allen

U.S. stocks rose Monday ahead of a series of central bank policy meetings around the world.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.8%, dragged higher by shares of companies like Facebook and Netflix. The S&P 500 rose about 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.2%.

Investors will be watching the Federal Reserve's meeting concluding Wednesday for clues on whether the central bank will slash rates this year, after ramping up expectations of an interest-rate cut in recent weeks. The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England also hold meetings this week.

U.S. stocks have rallied in June after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank would act to sustain U.S. economic expansion in the face of escalating geopolitical and trade tensions. Now, expectations that central bankers could send a similar message later this week helped lift markets Monday, analysts said.

"Investors are thinking that the Fed's going to come out with some dovish language Wednesday," said Tracie McMillion, head of global asset allocation at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. "That would give markets maybe an additional boost."

However, Ms. McMillion cautioned that news from central bankers globally could spur volatility in stock markets.

Investors have also been watching for signs of how the U.S. trade battle with China will ripple over to the domestic economy. On Monday, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is due to open seven days of public hearings on the Trump administration's proposal to raise a levy on $300 billion of Chinese exports, including consumer goods such as mobile phones and laptops.

On Monday, the Empire State Manufacturing Survey's general business conditions index recorded its largest monthly decline on record. The New York Fed said 30% of respondents reported business conditions that had worsened from a month earlier.

"It's another signal that the Fed is going to have to take into consideration," said Shawn Cruz, manager of trader strategy at TD Ameritrade, of the data.

In Europe, investors will be focusing on the European Central Bank's annual forum in Portugal -- roughly equivalent to the Fed's Jackson Hole Symposium -- where the bank's president Mario Draghi is due to speak Monday. While not an official monetary-policy meeting, the ECB has previously used the forum to signal a shift in approach.

Shares of Deutsche Lufthansa dragged airline stocks lower in European trade. Lufthansa issued its second profit warning of the year, dragging its shares down more than 10%. Ryanair Holdings, Air France-KLM and EasyJet all fell more than 3% amid concerns around overcapacity and deteriorating prices in the European short-haul market.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.4% as authorities indefinitely suspended debating a controversial extradition bill that had sparked a wave of protests across the city. Global oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.2% to $61.91 a barrel, following a rebound Friday.

Write to Gunjan Banerji at Gunjan.Banerji@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 17, 2019 12:47 ET (16:47 GMT)

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