share this article!

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 financials (.SPSY), communication services (.SPLRC), and real estate (.SPLRCR) sector indexes all rose more than 0.8 percent. Tesla (TSLA.O) jumped nearly 4%, contributing the most to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq’s advances. 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) gained more than 1%, while Goldman Sachs (GS.N) gained more than 2%, boosting the Dow’s gains. 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 will 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) increased 0.36 percent to 34,996.18 points, while the S&P 500 (.SPX) increased 0.35 percent to 4,384.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) increased by 0.21 percent to 14,733.24. All three closed at their all-time highs. Walt Disney (DIS.N) rose more than 4% to a two-month high after the release of Marvel’s “Black Widow,” a superhero film that grossed $80 million in its first weekend. In addition, ESPN Plus, the company’s streaming service, is set to increase its prices. Didi Global Inc (DIDI.N) fell over 7% after the ride-hailing business acknowledged that China’s internet authority had asked app shops to delete the ride-hailing company’s 25 apps, citing a potential impact on revenue in the region. find out more Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE.N) fell 17% after the space tourism business indicated it may sell up to $500 million in stock a day after completing its first fully crewed test trip into space with billionaire founder Richard Branson on board. find out more On U.S. exchanges, volume was 8.3 billion shares, compared to an average of 10.5 billion shares for the full session for the previous 20 trading days. On the NYSE, advancers exceeded decliners by a 1.43-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, advancers outpaced decliners by a 1.11-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 made 66 new 52-week highs while the Nasdaq Composite made 85 new highs and 38 new lows. 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

share this article!