US stocks open modestly higher on Monday,with Nasdaq Composite gaining 0.2%,Dow rising 0.3% and S&P 500 climbing 0.2%.

US stocks open modestly higher on Monday,with Nasdaq Composite gaining 0.2%,Dow rising 0.3% and S&P 500 climbing 0.2%.

Stocks gained on Monday as investors monitored upbeat economic data out of China and awaited key retail sales and earnings results out from major U.S. companies later this week.

The S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq each opened higher. The Dow rose with shares of Boeing (BA) leading the way higher after the aircraft-maker's head of commercial airplanestold Bloomberg he was "hopeful" that China would resume orders of the 737 Max soon following more than two years of grounding.

Investors this week are also set to receive new datafrom the Commerce Department on U.S. retail sales. The report is likely to show a 1.3% month-on-month jump in sales for October after a more sanguine 0.7% rise in September. And retail earnings results from major names including Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's (LOW) will offer additional details on the state of the consumer.

For U.S. stocks, last week marked a brief pause after a record-setting run-up. The S&P 500 posted a weekly decline for the first time in six weeks, but remained within 0.8% of its all-time intraday high as of Friday's close. The Dow and Nasdaq were also not far off from their own record levels.

A hotter-than-expected Consumer Price Index (CPI) last week tempered some of investors' ebullience for equities, and suggested heightened inflationary pressures were stickier than previously expected. TheCPI jumped by a greater-than-expected 6.2% in Octobercompared to the prior year, marking the fastest annual rise since 1990. Meanwhile, thelatest print on U.S. job openingscame in higher-than-expected to a near-record high of more than 10.4 million, and a separate report showedconsumer sentiment deteriorated early this monthas Americans nervously eyed rising prices.

The jump in inflation carries implications both for consumers' personal finances and for monetary policy.

"The surge in core inflation in October marks the start of a run of big gains, thanks to surging used auto prices, rebounding airline fares, and faster increases in housing costs," Ian Shepherdson, chief economist for Pantheon Macroeconomics, wrote in a note Monday. "We think core inflation will peak at almost 7% in March, which will pose a serious challenge to the Fed's benign medium-term view. Chair [Jerome] Powell will have to convince markets that the combination of rocketing payrolls and soaring inflation does not threaten the transitory story, to which he appears still to be committed."

Though the Federal Reserve has maintained current inflationary pressures will be temporary, sustained increases of these elevated magnitudes could prompt a quicker-than-previously-expected hike to interest rates, which would in turn impact a variety of asset classes.

"We remain of the view that the Fed will start to hike in September, but a June hike can't be ruled out. If labor participation shows no sign of life by the March FOMC meeting, we expect the fed to accelerate the taper and then hike in June. This would play badly across all asset markets," Shepherdson added. "Treasury yields still have to rise, but rising real yields due to strong non-inflationary growth are vastly preferable to rising inflation expectations. High-multiple stocks and loss-making tech would be vulnerable even in the benign scenario, but cyclicals would outperform."

Tesla shares fell 2% Monday following a weekend Twitter exchange between founder Elon Musk and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

“We must demand that the extremely wealthy pay their fair share. Period,” the Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats wrote.

“I keep forgetting that you’re still alive,” Musk responded. In a follow-up tweet, he said, “Want me to sell more stock, Bernie? Just say the word …”

Dow component Boeing rose nearly 3.5% following news that Saudi Arabian Airlines is in talks with Airbus and Boeing for a wide-body jet order. At the same time, Emirates announced an order for two Boeing 777 Freighters at the 2021 Dubai Airshow.

Dollar Treeshares gained 7.7% following a report Friday that activist investor Mantle Ridge has taken a stake worth at least $1.8 billion in the discount store chain and will push it to do more to add to shareholder value.