Wall Street indexes closed up on Monday with the Nasdaq leading gains as investors bought heavyweight technology stocks and shrugged off the uncertainty of a potential US government shutdown and hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials.

Technology provided the benchmark S&P's biggest boost as investors bet on growth from artificial intelligence and expectations that the Fed will keep cutting interest rates as it grapples with persistent inflation concerns and labour market uncertainties.

A major focus for Wall Street this week is a stand-off between Republicans and Democrats over funding that has raised the prospect of a government shutdown beginning on Wednesday, the first day of the US government's new fiscal year.

Even as the US Labour Department prepared for a potential delay of its September jobs report in the event of a shutdown, this did not seem to be the key market driver, said Lindsey Bell, chief strategist at 248 Ventures in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"Investors are clinging to the positives," Bell said, pointing to rate easing hopes and signs of economic resilience from recent releases, including housing market and consumer spending data.

"The market is not going to shoot to the moon, because this is a risk. But investors can look through the potential for a shutdown, because if it does occur, it will likely be resolved quickly and the market can resume focusing on the things that do matter, like earnings, monetary policy and AI investments."

The Dow Jones rose 0.15 percent to 46,316, the S&P 500 gained 0.26 percent to 6,661, and the Nasdaq put on 0.48 percent to 22,591. (Reuters)