On June 28, 2021, a Wall Street street sign is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, New York, United States. ANDREW KELLY/REUTERS 12 JULY (Reuters) – On Monday, Wall Street’s main indexes hit new highs, led by Tesla and bank stocks, as investors awaited the start of the second-quarter earnings season and a slew of economic data. The 11 S&P 500 sector indexes were led by financials (.SPSY), communication services (.SPLRC), and real estate (.SPLRCR). Tesla (TSLA.O) rose, contributing significantly to increases in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. As he took the stand in court on Monday to defend Tesla’s 2016 acquisition of SolarCity, CEO Elon Musk reiterated that he does not run the electric vehicle firm and that he does not enjoy being its CEO. find out more The S& JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) and Goldman Sachs (GS.N) both surged, assisting in the Dow’s ascent to new highs. Investors will be watching quarterly results for early indications of how long the U.S. economic recovery will persist, with S&P 500 earnings per share forecast to jump 66 percent in the June quarter, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. The S&P 500 (.SPX) has risen roughly 17% this year, prompting some investors to wonder how long Wall Street’s surge will go and to be concerned about a possible fall. “The earnings season will be enthusiastically received as an opportunity to reinforce existing prejudices,” cautioned Mike Zigmont, head of trading and research at Harvest Volatility Management in New York. “Even if the forecasts aren’t as rosy as the most optimistic had hoped, it’ll all be explained away.” A succession of economic releases, including top U.S. inflation figures and retail sales, will be the focus this week. On Wednesday and Thursday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to testify before Congress about inflation. In recent sessions, investors have been concerned about rising inflation and the development of the Delta coronavirus type, with traders swinging back and forth between preferring economy-linked value equities and tech-heavy growth names. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) jumped 130.23 points, or 0.37 percent, to 35,000.39, the S&P 500 (.SPX) increased 15.2 points, or 0.35 percent, to 4,384.75 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) rose 31.32 points, or 0.21 percent, to 14,733.24. After Walt Disney (DIS.N) and Marvel’s “Black Widow” superhero film grossed $80 million in its debut weekend, the stock rose to a two-month high. In addition, ESPN Plus, the company’s streaming service, is set to increase its prices. Didi Global Inc (DIDI.N) fell after the ride-hailing business acknowledged that China’s internet authority had alerted app shops to delete the ride-hailing company’s 25 applications, claiming that the decision would have a negative impact on its revenue in the region. read more Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE.N) fell after the space tourism business indicated it may sell up to $500 million worth of stock, only one day after completing its first fully crewed test flight into space with billionaire founder Richard Branson on board. find out more In Bengaluru, Devik Jain and Shreyashi Sanyal contributed additional reporting; Maju Samuel and Cynthia Osterman edited the piece. The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles are our standards./nRead More