Stocks surged on Monday as investors anticipated a wave of megacap technology earnings that could propel the Nasdaq Composite to new heights this week. A calming geopolitical situation also bolstered risk sentiment.
The S&P 500 gained 0.27 per cent, closing at 5,823.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced by 273.17 points, or 0.65 per cent, ending at 42,387.57. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq rose 0.26 per cent, closing at 18,567.19.
This week marks the busiest period of the third-quarter earnings season and is the final week leading up to the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election and the Federal Reserve’s policy decision on Nov. 7. Five of the Magnificent Seven companies are scheduled to report their latest financial results, with shares of Apple and Alphabet ending the day higher.
Traders are also keeping an eye on a series of important economic data this week, including a preliminary reading on third-quarter gross domestic product on Wednesday, the September personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index expected on Thursday, and the October jobs report due on Friday.
In the S&P 500 sectors, only two finished in the red. Financials emerged as the best performer, gaining 1.14 per cent, while technology and energy lagged behind, with losses of 0.07 per cent and 0.65 per cent, respectively.
In company news, shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing dropped 1.4 per cent after halting shipments to a China-based chip designer due to a chip found in a Huawei AI processor, according to sources familiar with the matter.
ON Semiconductor shares climbed 1.4 per cent after reporting third-quarter earnings and revenue that surpassed analyst expectations.
Delta Air Lines shares rose 2.3 per cent after filing a lawsuit against CrowdStrike on Friday, alleging negligence and breach of contract related to a July outage that caused 7,000 flight cancellations.
In commodities, U.S. crude oil experienced its worst day in over two years, plummeting more than 6 per cent after Iranian energy facilities were reportedly unharmed during Israeli strikes over the weekend.
Futures
The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.4 per cent gain.
Currency
One Australian dollar at 7.40am was buying 65.84 US cents.
Commodities
Gold added 0.02 per cent. Silver gained 0.24 per cent. Copper lost 0.10 per cent. Oil dropped 5.27 per cent.
Figures around the globe
European markets closed higher. London’s FTSE gained 0.45 per cent, Frankfurt added 0.35 per cent, and Paris closed 0.79 per cent higher.
Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 1.82 per cent , while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.04 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.68 per cent.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.12 per cent higher at 8222.
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap, Marketech.
