Nasdaq leads way up as Nvidia surges: Stock market news today

US stocks closed higher Monday, led by a sharp rise in tech stocks, as Wall Street attempts to shake off a rough August so far.

The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the day's gains, up more than 1%, as the index looked to rebound from two straight sharp weekly losses. Nvidia's (NVDA) 7% surge boosted the tech-heavy index.

Meanwhile, the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) climbed about 0.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose around 0.1%.

The moves come as markets brace for an update on the health of the US consumer in the form of retail sales numbers and earnings from many of America's premier retailers, including Home Depot (HD), Target (TGT), and Walmart (WMT). Yahoo Finance will also feature a week-long special, Retail Evolution: The New Era, during our livestreamed programming beginning Monday morning.

Meanwhile, eyes will also be on the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting, in which the central bank resumed its rate-hike campaign. Wall Street will be keen to decipher any clues in the minutes that point to the Fed's next move in September.