The tech-rich Nasdaq surged to a fresh record Monday at the start of a heavy week of economic news that includes a US Federal Reserve rate decision.

Large gains by chip company Broadcom, Google parent Alphabet and some other tech names helped lift the index 1.2 percent to 20,173.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.3 percent to 43,717, while the broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.4 percent to 6,074.

Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments pointed to SoftBank's announcement that it would invest US$100 billion in the United States as being supportive of tech shares.

"There's renewed optimism in semiconductor and big tech stocks," Sarhan said.

But Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital said the market may take a breather until it receives key data points later in the week.

"There's a lot to digest this week," Ablin said of a calendar that includes key retail sales and inflation data, as well as a Fed monetary policy decision. (AFP)