Tech stocks lead US indexes higher on earnings optimism
- US stock indexes started the week strong, driven higher by mega-cap tech companies ahead of their second-quarter earnings reports.
- Major FANG stocks including Facebook, Amazon, and Alphabet are scheduled to report results this week.
- Meanwhile, Boeing was downgraded to "negative" from "stable" by Fitch on Monday, as the ratings firm pointed the costs and impact of the 737 Max crisis.
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Major US indexes closed higher on Monday, led by tech stocks that climbed ahead of highly anticipated earnings reports later this week.
The Nasdaq Composite led gains, rising 0.7%. Within the gauge, Twitter gained 2.2%, while Apple and Facebook jumped more than 2% each. Snap, Amazon, Facebook, and Alphabet are all schedule to report second quarter earnings this week.
A team of analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch led by Savita Subramanian said there's optimism building around earnings despite disappointing reports from the Industrial sector, which pointed to tariffs for slowing activity.
"So far, earnings for reported companies have come in 4% above consensus, driven by strong results from Tech and Health Care," the team said in a research note to clients on Monday.
Here's a look at today's closing numbers:
- The S&P 500 rose by 0.28% to 2,985.03.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.07% to 27,171.90.
- The Nasdaq composite rose by 0.71% to 8,204.14.
Credit rating agency Fitch downgraded Boeing to "negative" from "stable" citing the impacts of the 737 Max crisis on the aircraft manufacturer's image, and the costs associated with the defective model that led to two deadly plane crashes. Share's of Boeing fell 1% on the downgrade.
Disney's stock rose as much as 1.1% after the "The Lion King" brought in a record July opening for US ticket sales, and "Avengers: Endgame" eclipsed James Cameron's "Avatar" as the highest grossing film of all-time with $2.79 billion in worldwide ticket sales.
Within the S&P 500, these were the largest gainers:
- Halliburton: 9.15%
- Applied Materials: 6.11%
- Western Digital: 5.43%
And the largest decliners:
- Amcor: (-4.70%)
- Kroger: (-3.83%)
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise: (-3.64%)
The consumer staples sector within the S&P 500 slid by 0.53% on Monday. Materials, utilities, and healthcare edged slightly lower as well. The S&P 500 information technology sector index rose by 1.2%, posting the largest gains out of any sector.
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