S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs, lifted by Alphabet
Google-parent Alphabet rallied over 2 per cent ahead of its quarterly report on Wednesday. It and Tesla, also reporting on Wednesday, kick off earnings from the so-called "Magnificent Seven", and their results may set the tone for other heavyweight companies reporting in the next several days.
Tesla traded near flat, while Apple and Amazon each rose about 1 per cent.
Verizon rallied 5 per cent after the telecommunications company boosted its annual profit forecast.
Analysts on average expected S&P 500 companies to report a 6.7 per cent increase in earnings for the second quarter, with Big Tech driving much of that gain, according to LSEG I/B/E/S.
"So far, companies that have reported have, in general, met or beat guidance from the prior quarter, and we haven't seen any degradation either in corporate profits or consumer spending," said Tom Hainlin, national investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis.
With U.S. President Donald Trump's August 1 tariff deadline approaching, the S&P 500 is up about 8 per cent year to date, with investors betting the economic damage from tariffs will be less than feared.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday he was confident the United States could secure a trade deal with the European Union, even as EU members explored possible counter-measures against the United States.
Trump has threatened 30 per cent tariffs on imports from Mexico and the EU, and sent letters to other trading partners, including Canada, Japan and Brazil, setting tariffs ranging from 20 per cent to 50 per cent.
The S&P 500 was up 0.56 per cent at 6,332.05 points.
The Nasdaq gained 0.73 per cent to 21,048.31 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.49 per cent at 44,560.36 points.
Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by communication services, up 1.93 per cent, followed by a 1.27 per cent gain in materials.
Investors focused on how tariff uncertainty is impacting the U.S. economy will scrutinize jobless claims data and the July business activity report, expected on Thursday.
They will also watch a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday for clues about when the Fed might cut interest rates, especially after mixed inflation signals last week.
Traders have largely ruled out a July rate cut, and they now see a greater than 50 per cent chance the Fed will cut by its September meeting, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 by a 1.7-to-one ratio.
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