DJIA up 97.73 points (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - New York, 06 May - US shares were trading higher to kick off a new week as investors looked to earnings and Fed-speak to inform bets on interest rates.

In a week light on economic data, the market will be monitoring a flurry of Federal Reserve policymakers to get a better view on the central bank's leaning on monetary policy after last Friday's softer-than-expected jobs report boosted hopes the Fed may be in a position to start cutting interest rates sooner rather than later.

Stubborn inflation has prompted the Fed to put back the timetable for cuts and prompted traders to rework bets for the number of cuts this year.

New York Fed president John Williams and the Richmond Fed's Thomas Barkin are scheduled to appear today while Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari is on the docket tomorrow.

Today, the US employment trends index fell to 111.25 in April from 112.16 in March.

On the earnings front, Walt Disney is due to report tomorrow followed a day later by Uber and Airbnb.

On the stocks front, shares in Paramount rose more than 4.9% as the company remains in takeover discussions with two separate bidders. Apple shares were lower after Warren Buffett said it was 'extremely likely' the iPhone giant would remain Berkshire Hathaway's largest stock position at the end of the year.

At 1828 GMT, the Dow Jones was up 97.73 points, or 0.25%, at 38,772.41 points.

The S&P 500 was 32.30 points, or 0.63%, higher at 5,160.09 points.

The Nasdaq was gaining 113.21 points, or 0.71%, at 16,271.01 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 06-05-24 19:50:03 (0679) 5 NNNN