Sawt Falasteen - US stocks at records despite early losses on Fed independence angst

Both the Dow and S&P 500 ended the day with modest gains of 0.2 percent, which was good enough to lift both indices to records for a second straight day.

The Nasdaq also bounced back from early losses after Sunday night's disclosure of the US Department of Justice probe into the Federal Reserve dented stocks in the early going, while lifting gold and silver prices to new all-time highs.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell confirmed the "unprecedented" subpoenas against the bank in a rare video address, which he blasted as part of US President Donald Trump's pressure campaign for aggressive interest rate cuts.

Powell said in his statement that "the threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president."

But there was extensive pushback against Trump, not only in a forceful statement jointly signed by three former Fed chiefs, but on Capitol Hill, where at least two Republican senators balked at moves to undermine central bank independence.

"The market doesn't really believe it's going to come to a prosecution," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hre. "It's a lot of bluster."

O'Hare said Monday's gains reflect investors' inclination to "keep calm and buy the trend," which has been pointing higher.

European stocks finished mostly higher after a strong showing in Asia.

The dollar fell against the euro and the pound, as did the price of the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond, sending its yield slightly higher.

Gold climbed above $4,600 an ounce while silver approached $86 an ounce as investors sought traditional safe havens.

"Beyond monetary and political concerns, gold remains well supported by ongoing geopolitical risks," said Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.

Trump said Sunday that he was considering military action against Iran following reports of hundreds of deaths during a violent crackdown on the protesters.

"We're looking at it very seriously," Trump told reporters on Air Force One. "The military is looking at it, and we're looking at some very strong options."

Oil prices edged higher in volatile trading Monday as protests in Iran and the US seizure of Venezuela's crude supplies stoking geopolitical risks.

Banking stocks meanwhile took a hit from Trump's call to cap credit card costs at 10 percent, a change that would make credit less available and hurt consumers and businesses.

American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Visa were among the biggest losers on Wall Street's blue-chip Dow index.

Asian markets advanced Monday, led by gains in Hong Kong and Shanghai and tracking Wall Street's record close at the end of last week.

Tokyo was closed for a holiday.

- Key figures at around 2130 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 49,590.20 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 6,977.27 (close)

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 23,733.90 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 10,140.70 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: FLAT at 8,358.76 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.6 percent at 25,405.34 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.4 percent at 26,608.48 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 4,165.29 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: (closed for holiday)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1666 from $1.1637 on Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3466 from $1.3404

Dollar/yen: UP at 158.17 yen from 157.89 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.63 pence from 86.81 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.8 percent at $63.87 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $59.50 per barrel

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L.AbuAli--SF-PST