Stock market today: Indexes gain as investors brace for key tech earnings

The NASDAQ MarketSite in New York’s Times Square.

US stocks moved higher on Monday to kick off a pivotal week of earnings and economic data.

More than 90 S&P 500 companies are set to report results this week, and investors will be keenly focused on third-quarter updates from Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet.

Combined, these five mega-cap tech giants are worth about $12 trillion.

“The busiest week is ahead of us, with a shift from cyclicals to AI / mega-cap Tech. AI monetization is in focus and has been spotty at best. But Tech CEOs have told us that the biggest risk is underinvesting thus AI capex could drive sales for Tech but also for the broader market,” Bank of America’s Savita Subramanian said in a Monday note.

So far, 37% of S&P 500 companies have reported earnings results. Of those companies, 78% beat profit estimates by a median of 6%, while 58% beat revenues estimates by a median of 2%, according to data from Fundstrat.

It’s a big week for economic data as well, with third-quarter GDP to be released Wednesday morning. The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow Tracker suggests growth of 3.3% in the quarter, while economists expect growth of 3.2%.

Investors will also get a look into inflation with the release of the PCE index on Thursday, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.

According to economist estimates, the year-over-year PCE Index is expected to be 2.1%, a slight decrease from last month’s reading of 2.2%.

Finally, investors will turn their attention to the October jobs report on Friday. Economists expect 110,000 jobs added to the economy last month, a big decline from the September employment report, which came in hot with 245,000 new jobs.

From there, investors will be hyper-focused on the Presidential election next week, which will be followed by the Fed’ next policy meeting on November 6-7.

Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Monday:

• S&P 500: 5,823.56, up 0.27%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 42,387.57, up 0.65% (+273.17 points)

• Nasdaq composite: 18,567.19, up 0.26%

Here’s what else is going on:

• Trump Media stock soared on Monday following former President Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden.

• Oil prices plunged more than 6% after Israel’s attack against Iran over the weekend avoided oil facilities.

• 4 charts back up Goldman Sachs’ prediction of a decade of low returns in the stock market.

• Here’s what is at stake for your investments in next week’s Presidential election.

• Gold has become one of the world’s hottest investments as it outperforms the S&P 500. Here’s why.

• Donald Trump’s proposed immigration crackdown could make housing more expensive by depleting the construction workforce.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil plunged 5.54% to $67.80 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was lower by 5.50% to $71.87 a barrel.

• Gold was flat at $2,754.50 an ounce.

• The 10-year Treasury yield rose 3 basis points to 4.274%.

• Bitcoin increased 2.49% to $69,638.