US open: Stocks mostly higher as investors await Q2 earnings

Wall Street stocks were mostly higher early on Monday after seeing out last week at fresh record highs.

As of 1535 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.34% at 34,987.88, while the S&P 500 was 0.25% firmer at 4,380.30 and the Nasdaq Composite was flat at 14,701.32.

The Dow opened 117.72 points higher on Monday, extending gains recorded on Friday when all three major indices closed at new highs despite worries around a potential slowdown in US economic growth earlier in the week.

In focus on Monday, reopening plays Carnival Corp and General Electric were in the red early on, while big tech stocks like Tesla, Nvidia and Facebook were in the green. Virgin Galactic was down around 10% after founder Richard Branson made history by making his way into space aboard the company's VSS Unity spacecraft.

Investors also had an eye locked on the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, currently sitting at around 1.36%.

While no major corporate earnings were slated for release on Monday, the second-quarter earnings season will kick off tomorrow, with analysts expecting strong earnings reports from JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America throughout the week.

AvaTrade's Naeem Aslam said: "Investors and traders are hoping to see some strong numbers out of US corporates this week especially from the US banks given that the issue of stress test is behind them. Traders are expecting the S&P 500 companies to grow by nearly 65% for the second quarter on a year-over-year basis, bouncing back from the slump caused by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

"The projected surge in growth would be the highest witnessed since the fourth quarter of 2009. Investors should keep in mind that, while economic growth is expected to slow in the coming months, profits in S&P500 companies are still expected to grow by double digits in the next two quarters, giving them reason to be optimistic about the future outlook of stock markets."

On the macro front, June consumer inflation expectations will be published at 1600 BST.

Dow Jones - Risers

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $378.85 1.91%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $178.70 0.94%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $157.20 0.92%
American Express Co. (AXP) $173.27 0.77%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $104.80 0.70%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $170.63 0.52%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $246.43 0.50%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $47.61 0.42%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $56.22 0.42%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $56.30 0.41%