US open: Stocks inch higher ahead of key corporate updates
Wall Street's main market gauges were slightly higher as investors waited on a raft of quarterly updates scheduled for release later in the week and mulled the latest data out of Asian giant China.
At 1625 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was edging higher by 0.05% or 10.90 points to 21,647.18, while the S&P 500 was up by 0.10% or 2.36 points a 2,461.65 and the Nasdaq Composite was ahead by 0.08% or 5.32 points to 6,317.73.
From a sector standpoint, the best performing areas of the market were: Hotel & Lodging (3.08%), Gold Mining (1.83%) and Industrial Metals (1.72%).
David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: "The Dow Jones and S&P 500 are fractionally in the black today as the bullish sentiment from last week still lingers. Record highs for both US indices were achieved on Friday as positive quarterly updates from US banks and weaker than expected inflation data gave traders a reason to buy."
Quarterly updates from the largest US corporates were still high on investors' minds, with figures from Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, General Electric and Microsoft all due out later in the week.
Results from Netflix were due out after the close of trading on Monday.
In the background, investors were digesting the latest round of data from China, which showed second-quarter gross domestic product grew 6.9% from a year earlier, unchanged from the first quarter and ahead of expectations for 6.8% growth.
On a quarterly basis, the economy grew 1.7% compared to 1.3% in the first quarter, as expected. Chinese retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment data for June were also encouraging.
Back in the States, the Federal Reserve bank of New York's regional 'Empire State' manufacturing index fell back from a reading of 19.8 for June to 9.8 in July.
Procter & Gamble was in the headlines following a Wall Street Journal report that shareholder Nelson Peltz and his Trian Fund Management could be set to fight for a seat on the company's board.
Fund manager Blackrock posted adjusted second quarter earnings per share of $5.24, falling short of the $5.41 which analysts had penciled in.
Quarterly revenues, up by 6% to $2.97bn, also undershot estimates on the Street.
Dow Jones - Risers
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $150.64 1.07%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $31.60 0.57%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $76.71 0.49%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $73.08 0.41%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $104.76 0.31%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $58.17 0.30%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $43.67 0.25%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $63.20 0.22%
Boeing Co. (BA) $208.87 0.17%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $44.74 0.15%
Dow Jones - Fallers
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $91.62 -0.68%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $84.31 -0.52%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $186.21 -0.37%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $154.82 -0.30%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $153.79 -0.29%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $132.22 -0.29%
3M Co. (MMM) $211.29 -0.23%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.62 -0.19%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $228.30 -0.13%
American Express Co. (AXP) $85.18 -0.12%
S&P 500 - Risers
Mallinckrodt Plc Ordinary Shares (MNK) $46.10 3.57%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $13.04 3.49%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $12.38 3.25%
Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) $73.69 3.25%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $52.06 2.84%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $6.17 2.66%
Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $196.73 2.31%
GameStop Corp. (GME) $21.44 2.10%
Macy's Inc. (M) $22.82 2.06%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $18.70 2.05%
S&P 500 - Fallers
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $22.51 -3.08%
Blackrock Inc. (BLK) $426.23 -3.05%
FedEx Corp. (FDX) $212.92 -2.80%
CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) $68.15 -1.89%
Crown Castle International (CCI) $99.36 -1.69%
Signet Jewelers Ltd (SIG) $59.06 -1.37%
Zions Bancorporation (ZION) $44.19 -1.19%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $54.46 -1.13%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $107.59 -1.06%
Legg Mason Inc. (LM) $39.34 -1.06%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $52.06 2.84%
Liberty Interactive Corporation QVC Group (QVCA) $23.70 1.80%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $52.41 1.73%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $70.30 1.72%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class A (LILA) $26.50 1.49%
Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX) $63.03 1.44%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $186.79 1.40%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $190.95 1.27%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class C (LILAK) $26.33 1.15%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $1,013.17 1.13%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $318.71 -2.77%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $304.64 -1.84%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $89.59 -1.55%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $258.67 -1.17%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $54.46 -1.13%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $132.80 -1.09%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $56.88 -1.06%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $107.59 -1.06%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $41.61 -0.95%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $39.15 -0.89%