- S&P 500 added 23.78 points, or 0.7%, to finish at 3,239.41.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 114.88 points higher, or 0.4%, at 26,584.77,
- NASDAQ was ending 173.09 points higher, or 1.7%, at 10,536.27.
On a packed week of risks, the major US stock market benchmarks ended higher Monday.
Despite the growing concerns over the US coronavirus spread and political strife over the virus rescue spending plans as well as mounting risks surrounding the Sino/US spat, investors continued to back the bullish trends.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 114.88 points higher, or 0.4%, at 26,584.77, while the S&P 500 added 23.78 points, or 0.7%, to finish at 3,239.41. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was the top-performing index on Wall Street and was ending 173.09 points higher, or 1.7%, at 10,536.27.
All three indexes snapped two-day losing streaks at the onset of an eventful week.
Investors will be monitoring the Fed’s monetary policy meeting, a plethora of high profile earnings and what promises to be a historic Gross Domestic Produce report as well as the efforts on Capitol Hill to agree on a new stimulus bill before enhanced unemployment benefits expire at the end of the week.
Meanwhile, an on ongoing surge in global COVID-19 infections and growing Sino-American tensions helped prompt a rush to safety, pushing gold prices to a record high.
S&P 500 levels
U.S.-China tensions simmered, as the U.S. closed its consulate in the western Chinese city of Chengdu at Beijing’s demand, in retaliation for Washington ordering the closure of China’s Houston consulate.
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Earnings season continues apace this week, including results from a host of tech heavyweights. Google parent Alphabet Inc. GOOG, +1.21% GOOGL, +1.40%, Amazon.com AMZN, +1.53%, Apple Inc. AAPL, +2.37% and Facebook Inc. FB, +1.20% are due to report Wednesday and Thursday.
“Markets are fairly quiet today, while continuing their upward momentum earlier this month,” said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management in Minneapolis, in an interview. But he also sees “a tremendous amount of uncertainty in the market,” including around “high expectations” around tech earnings.
Chief executives from all four companies will appear in congressional hearings on Wednesday to answer questions about their business practices.
Earnings Watch:Big Tech’s big test arrives in the busiest week of earnings season
Through the end of last week, companies representing 30.5% of the S&P 500’s market value had reported second-quarter results, with earnings beating expectations by 13.7% in aggregate, with 79% of companies beating lowered estimates, said Jonathan Golub, chief U.S. equity strategist at Credit Suisse, in a note.
See:S&P 500 earnings have been as bad as feared, even as the beat rate has improved
Price action, however, has been more muted than normal, he wrote, with companies beating both revenues and earnings outperforming the market by 1.2% versus a historical average of 1.6%. Companies missing on both measures have lagged by just 0.7% versus a historical average of 3.1%.
On the economic front, durable-goods orders for June climbed 7.3%, and orders minus transportation rose 3.3%, with core capital-goods orders seeing a similar rise.
The Federal Reserve will conclude its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday. Investors generally don’t expect the central bank to make any major announcements, but are looking for Chairman Jerome Powell to maintain a dovish tone.
Powell’s remarks also might resonate on Capitol Hill as negotiations toward a coronavirus rescue package continue, said Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the the Economic Outlook Group, in a note.
“If the Fed chairman emphasizes the urgent need for fiscal policy to address the widening economic divide in this country caused by the COVID-driven recession, it will be hard for those on Capitol Hill to ignore it,” he said.
Which companies were in focus?
Moderna Inc. MRNA, +9.15% shares rose 9.2% after the company said over the weekend that it had secured another $472 million commitment from the government to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.
Shares of Hasbro Inc. HAS, -7.41% were fell 7.4% after the toy maker reported an adjusted second-quarter profit and revenue that came in below expectations, as the COVID-19 pandemic has led to temporary store closures, product shortages and lower retail inventories.
Albertsons Cos. Inc. ACI, -5.40% stock fell 5.4% even after the grocer reported first-quarter earnings that beat expectations.
Papa John’s International Inc. PZZA, +1.39% stock gained 1.4% after the pizza chain said that it will bring on another 10,000 workers due to the COVID-19-related surge in business.
Alphabet Inc. GOOGL, +1.40% said it would extend its work-from-home order for its employees until summer 2021. Previously, the tech company had told employees they could return to the office as early as January. Its shares gained 1.4%.
The U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. TSM, +12.65% shot up 12.7% after Intel INTC, -2.01% said it may make use of another company’s foundry to make its 7-nanometer chips.
Biogen Inc. BIIB, +5.08% shares rose 5.1%, after Morgan Stanley gave the drug maker an overweight from underweight and a price target increase by $94 to $357.
Shares of Lemonade Inc. LMND, -6.37% were 6.4% lower on Monday after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage by giving the insurance startup a sell rating and $44 price target, after it went public on July 1.
Shares of Carnival Corp CCL, -7.09% tumbled 7.1%, while other cruise lines also came under pressure Monday amid rising COVID-19 cases in much of the U.S. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.’ NCLH, -6.95% shares tumbled 7%, while Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s RCL, -3.01% fell 3%.
Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD, +1.22% shares gained 1.2% Monday, after it said late Friday its CAR-T cell therapy received approval from the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for adult patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma.
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