Stock market today: US stocks edge higher ahead of earnings deluge and Fed policy meeting
Amazon and Apple join 170 other S&P 500 companies that are set to report their first-quarter earnings results this week.
Spencer Platt/Getty
- US stocks jumped on Monday, extending gains from last week as investors digest Q1 earnings results.
- The upcoming earnings reports of Amazon and Apple later this week will grab investors' attention.
- Also on the radar is this week's Federal Reserve meeting and interest rate decision and the April jobs report.
US stocks gained on Monday, extending their jump from last week as investors feel optimistic about another wave of first-quarter earnings reports.
Amazon and Apple will headline this week's earnings results, and an additional 170 S&P 500 companies are expected to report their results throughout the week.
So far, about half of S&P 500 companies have reported earnings results. Of those companies, 80% are beating profit estimates by a median of 7%, while 59% are beating revenue estimates by a median of 3%, according to data from Fundstrat.
Apart from earnings, investors will be paying close attention to the Federal Reserve's FOMC meeting on Wednesday. While the Fed is expected to keep interest rates unchanged, investors will be looking for clues from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on the outlook of the economy and what the Fed might do in the coming months.
Forecasters have greatly reduced expectations for rate cuts this year. On Monday, analysts at Macquarie predicted the next move from the central bank could be a hike, a stark about-face after the bank previously projected 225 basis points worth of rate cuts in 2024.
Finally, investors will keep their eye on the April jobs report, which is set to be released on Friday. Economists expect 250,000 jobs to have been added to the economy in April, down from 303,000 jobs added in March.
Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Monday:
- S&P 500: 5,116.17, up 0.32%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 38,387.06, up 0.39% (+147.40 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 15,983.08, up 0.35%
Here's what else happened today:
- Tesla stock soared 14% on Monday after Elon Musk visited China and reportedly struck a deal to roll out Tesla's autonomous driving technology in China.
- Florida and Texas are seeing a decline in home prices because of too much supply and not enough demand, according to Redfin.
- There's still the potential for the US economy to enter a dreaded period of stagflation, according to two economists.
- A new ETF that promises investors 100% downside protection to the stock market is set to launch later this week.
- Here's what Wall Street is expecting from Amazon's first-quarter earnings results.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 1.31% to $82.75 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 1.09% to $88.52 a barrel.
- Gold edged lower by 0.09% to $2,345.20 per ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield fell 4 basis points to 4.62%.
- Bitcoin edged lower by 0.41% to $62,855.