NEW YORK – U.S. stocks extended their rally on Tuesday, kicking off the final week of 2023 with expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates as soon as March. All three major U.S. stock indexes rose in light trading a day after the Christmas holiday, with the S&P 500 touching its highest intraday level since January 2022. All three are on track for monthly, quarterly and annual gains. Interest rate sensitive megacap stocks and chip shares led the upward momentum. On Friday, the three indexes notched their eighth straight weekly gains — their longest weekly winning streaks in years — as economic data…
