The president-elect's selection of hedge fund manager Scott Bessent considered a mainstream nominee who is not overly fond of trade tariffs, reassured investors of the potential direction of Trump's administration.

Positive sentiment about the nominee helped lift major indices further into record territory, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.1 percent at 44,778.18.

About 15 minutes into trading, the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.8 percent to 6,018.70, also above its closing all-time high, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite index climbed 1.0 percent to 19,199.78.

Monday's trading trend is "predicated on a belief that Mr Bessent while professing to make an extension of tax cuts a policy priority, will also be focused on taming the rise in the national debt, cutting the budget deficit to three percent of GDP, and advocating for a more gradual implementation of tariffs so that inflation does not take off again," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

This week's data includes a reading of consumer confidence and an update on personal consumption prices, a key inflation indicator.

Those reporting earnings include Best Buy, Dell and Dick's Sporting Goods.

Among individual companies, Macy's fell 4.0 percent as it reported preliminary results, including a 2.4 percent drop in sales to $4.7 billion.

The department store delayed the release of full earnings after a forensic investigation found an employee hid up to $154 million in delivery expenses starting in the fourth quarter of 2021 through early November.

Macy's delayed the results to "allow for completion of the independent investigation," it said.