MARKET SNAPSHOT

Traders took a cautious stance ahead of Wednesday's rate decision, piling into blue chip companies, while big technology names and consumer discretionary shares fell. Treasury yields fell ahead of the expected start of monetary easing by the Federal Reserve. Oil futures rose, despite more weak economic data out of China. Gold prices were little changed as the dollar weakened.

MARKET WRAPS

EQUITIES

Traders are ramping up wagers that the Federal Reserve will kick off its interest-rate easing campaign with a big cut.

On Monday, derivatives markets showed investors saw a roughly three-in-five chance of a half-point rate cut on Wednesday. That's up from 50-50 odds on Friday, according to CME Group data-and just 14% earlier last week.

Stocks were mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% and notched a record, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.5%. The S&P 500 inched up 0.1%.

Earlier Monday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.3%, supported by biotech and consumer-related stocks. The market was digesting China's weaker-than-expected August economic data, which will likely prompt more stimulus measures from the government.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3%, edging to a record close on strength in major bank shares.

New Zealand's NZX-50 shed 1.0%, retreating from a 32-month high amid widespread losses.

Markets in mainland China were closed in observance of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Markets in Japan were closed for Respect for the Aged Day.

COMMODITIES

Oil futures finished higher as traders shook off another round of lackluster data from China to focus on upcoming decisions by global central banks during a week that's likely to see "amplified" volatility.

West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery rose 2.1% to settle at $70.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. November Brent crude climbed 1.6% to $72.75 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.

"Caution and selectivity in positioning are advised for the week, as volatility will likely be amplified" in the crude-oil market, analysts at Blue Line Futures wrote.

Gold prices were little changed, as traders seemed to take a pause amid recent record highs.

Front month Comex gold for September delivery lost less than 0.1% to settle at $2580.40 per troy ounce.

"The gain since the start of September is 4% with momentum traders on board again and some fresh interest from those expecting more gains given the financial and geopolitical environment," said Rhona O'Connell of StoneX.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

Consumers Have a Debt Problem: Not Enough of the Right Kind

Too much debt can certainly be a problem for consumers. So can too little.

The Federal Reserve's next interest-rate decision could be a fateful one for many consumers and in turn for debates about the health of the American spender. Consumers have increasingly been turning to one of the more expensive forms of borrowing-credit cards-in part because other kinds of credit and sources of cash have been harder to come by. Cutting rates could unlock other avenues for borrowing and give consumers a crucial relief valve.

The value of adding more debt might seem odd coming when headline numbers have supercharged worries about the recent rise in delinquency rates. Consumer debt hit $17 trillion for the first time last year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit.

Manufacturing activity expands in New York region for first time in almost a year

The numbers The New York Federal Reserve's Empire State business conditions index, a gauge of manufacturing activity in the state, jumped 16.2 points in September to 11.5, the regional Fed bank said Monday. That's the first positive reading since last November.

Economists had expected a negative 5 reading, according to a survey by the Wall Street Journal.

Any reading above zero indicates improving conditions.

Intel CEO Lays Out New Steps to Cut Costs and Bolster Chip-Making Division

Intel said it would further separate its chip-manufacturing and design operations as part of a new raft of measures to weather one of the most significant crises in its five-decade history.

Intel also is pausing factory projects in Germany and Poland for two years, and putting a manufacturing project in Malaysia on hold until demand picks back up, Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger said in an interview. The company also will slash the number of office locations, he said.

Gelsinger has been gradually separating Intel's manufacturing and chip design operations, after making the company's factories available to outside circuit designers shortly after taking the role more than three years ago. The manufacturing operations started to report separate financial results this year, but they will now be an independent subsidiary under Intel rather than an integral part of it.

Boeing Freezes Hiring, Delays Pay Raises as Strike Worsens Finances

Boeing said it would freeze hiring and delay pay increases for its salaried workforce as the jet maker grapples with financial fallout from a strike launched Friday by its largest union.

The company announced the cost-saving measures in a memo to staff on Monday and said it would also cut back orders from suppliers for its 737, 767 and 777 jets. The memo said Boeing also was considering temporary furloughs for employees and executives.

A strike could cost the manufacturer some $500 million a week, according to one analyst estimate. The company's operations had been burning about $1 billion a month before the strike and credit-ratings firms warned they may downgrade Boeing.

Murdochs Face Off in a Reno Courthouse Over Family Trust

RENO, Nev.-For decades, the downtown courthouse here near the banks of the Truckee River offered easy divorces to Hollywood celebrities and other visitors seeking a quiet dissolution of their marriages.

Now, the same courthouse is the site of another family dispute-one over future control of Rupert Murdoch's global media empire.

A trial is getting under way Monday to determine whether the 93-year-old patriarch can change a trust holding the family's assets, which include roughly 40% voting stakes in Fox News parent Fox Corp.and Wall Street Journal owner News Corp.