US open: Stocks mostly higher as investors await Q3 earnings

Major indices were mostly higher early on Monday as market participants braced for a week packed with key Q3 corporate earnings.

As of 1520 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.02% at 42,854.97, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.57% to 5,847.90 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.84% firmer at 18,496.59.

The Dow opened just 8.89 points lower on Monday, doing little to hurt gains recorded in the previous session, while the S&P 500 rose to a fresh record.

This week's primary focus will be earnings from a number of the nation's biggest names in business, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, Morgan Stanley, United Airlines, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Netflix and Procter & Gamble.

Also later in the week, September retail sales and industrial production figures will be published on Thursday, followed by housing starts and building permits numbers on Friday.

Bond markets were closed on Monday in observance of Columbus Day.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $230.49 1.29%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $421.68 1.29%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $94.83 0.74%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $234.69 0.61%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $518.92 0.51%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $306.55 0.49%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $9.25 0.43%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $413.38 0.36%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $289.04 0.33%
Visa Inc. (V) $278.56 0.26%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $389.98 -3.00%
Boeing Co. (BA) $146.85 -2.76%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $80.89 -1.53%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $219.91 -1.07%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $325.56 -0.85%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $108.90 -0.76%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $150.68 -0.49%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.47 -0.39%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $79.81 -0.37%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $53.64 -0.26%

S&P 500 - Risers

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $213.07 3.91%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $85.96 3.70%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $512.46 3.44%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $139.24 3.29%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $8.55 2.83%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $826.02 2.77%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $66.54 2.56%
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $38.48 2.53%
Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) $62.53 2.53%
Under Armour, Inc. (UA) $8.06 2.28%

S&P 500 - Fallers

VF Corp. (VFC) $19.45 -4.30%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $1.32 -3.31%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $98.80 -3.16%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $389.98 -3.00%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $48.57 -2.92%
Boeing Co. (BA) $146.85 -2.76%
Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $102.50 -2.48%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $6.07 -2.18%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $18.82 -2.08%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $22.90 -2.05%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $26.42 5.96%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.62 5.26%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $213.07 3.91%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $85.96 3.70%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $512.46 3.44%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $139.24 3.29%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $864.39 2.82%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $826.02 2.77%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $66.54 2.56%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $44.71 2.00%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $100.37 -3.31%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $85.80 -2.89%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $24.19 -1.39%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $65.25 -1.32%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $215.01 -1.28%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $20.31 -1.12%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $71.38 -1.04%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $20.99 -0.94%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $325.56 -0.85%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $76.28 -0.70%