Oct 18 Reuters - The S&P and Nasdaq closed higher on Monday with benefits from the highest-profile technology and communications companies while investors eyed product news from Apple Inc and appeared optimistic about the 3rd quarter earnings season.
In technology, Apple jumped higher after it caused a stir with the release of new Mac laptops with more powerful processor chips.
Facebook shares rose sharply on Monday with some positive reports as well as its plans to create 10,000 jobs in Europe to help build the so-called Metaverse - an online world.
With just a small minority of companies reporting quarterly reports so far, investors were hoping for some good news in the days and weeks ahead.
This week, you're going to see a diverse slate of earnings reports from a heavy set of industries, said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles, adding the path of least resistance remains higher for large-cap tech with less opportunity in office. Based on the latest available data, Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 35.75 points, or 0.1%, to 35,259. 01, the S&P 500 rose to 4,486 points, or 0.34%, to 15.01 dollars. 38 and the Nasdaq Composite added 124.47 points, or 0.84%, to 15,021. Forecast-beating results from big U.S. lenders last week had set a positive tone for third quarter earnings season, with analysts expecting S&P 500 earnings to show a 32% increase from a year ago, according to Refinitiv data.
The solid start likely helped investors shrug off uneasiness from earlier in the day after China recorded its slowest rate of economic growth in a year for the third quarter, hurt by power shortages and wobbles in the property sector.
Among the top boosts of the session were Tesla Inc. as it prepares for its earnings report this week.
Technology was the top boost in S&P industry sectors during the session supported by consumer discretionary which was followed by Amazon and communication services were helped Facebook.
Johnson Johnson, Netflix, Baker Hughes Co. and oilfield services company Verizon Communications Inc are also due to report quarterly results this week.
But while successful mega tech gainers were strong enough to boost S&P and Nasdaq, optimism was not widespread with roughly a handful of industry sectors still in red late in the session.
And Walt Disney Co was declining during the session after Barclays downgraded the media giant's stock to equal weight from overweight.