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Stocks eased below breakeven soon after Monday’s open, ahead of a busy week of earnings reports from technology’s heaviest hitters.
The Dow Jones Industrials stepped back 91.65 points to open the week’s first session at 34,969.90, after four straight days of gains
The S&P 500 slid 4.59 points to 4,407.20
The NASDAQ gained 16.17 points to 14,853.16.
One of the busiest weeks of earnings reports is on deck, with Tesla kicking it off after the closing bell. Last week, CEO Elon Musk said the automaker would likely start accepting bitcoin for vehicle purchases again.
Big tech giants Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft are all set to report on Tuesday, and Google, Facebook, and Amazon will also report later in the week.
The second-quarter reporting season has been stronger than expected, providing a support for equities as they climb back into record-high territory. So far, 88% of S&P 500 companies have reported a positive EPS surprise, according to FactSet. If 88% is the final percentage, it will mark the highest percentage since FactSet began tracking this metric in 2008.
Meanwhile, on the data front, sales of new U.S. single-family homes dropped unexpectedly in June, falling 6.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 676,000 units, the Commerce Department said on Monday. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected new home sales to increase to 795,000 units in June.
Investors will be watching the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, beginning Tuesday. The Federal Open Market Committee and the Board of Governors are expected to issue a statement on the stance of monetary policy Wednesday. On Thursday, the Commerce Department will report second-quarter Gross Domestic Product data.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys sagged, raising yields to 1.28% from Friday’s 1.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices inched up four cents to $72.11 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices $4.90 to $1,796.90 U.S. an ounce.
