Dow, S&P 500 Climb to New Records



U.S. stocks rose to record highs on Monday as investors prepared for a major week of earnings from heavyweight tech companies.

The Dow Jones Industrials gained 64.13 points to 35,741.15,

The S&P 500 marched ahead 21.58 points to 4,566.48, for its own record high.

The NASDAQ Composite sprinted 136.51 points to 15.226.71, buoyed by a historic day for Tesla.

The electric vehicle pioneer, which reported record revenue and profits last week, gained more than 12% and saw its market cap surpass $1 trillion after Morgan Stanley hiked its price target on the shares to $1,200 from $900. Rental car company Hertz also announced that it would order 100,000 Tesla vehicles.

The sharp move for the stock helped the market start the week off strong ahead of a busy week of earnings. Tech giants Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple are set to report this week, along with Dow components Caterpillar, Coca-Cola, Boeing and McDonald’s.

Shares of Facebook rose 1.3% after sliding in morning trading. Apple also erased early losses to close nearly flat, while Amazon and Microsoft dipped less than 1%.

Energy stocks were an area of strength for the market on Monday as West Texas Intermediate crude futures touched $85 per barrel. Shares of Exxon Mobil rose nearly 2%, while Chevron rose 0.9%.

Wall Street entered Monday following a winning week on the back of strong corporate earnings. The blue-chip Dow gained more than 1% last week and closed Friday at a record. The S&P 500 rallied 1.7% last week, also posting its third straight positive week and hitting an all-time high Friday.

Of the 117 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings to date, 84% posted numbers that beat expectations. S&P 500 companies are expected to grow profit by about 35% in the third quarter.

Prices for 10-year Treasurys lost ground, driving yields back up to Friday’s 1.64%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices hiked 31 cents to $83.45 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices hurtled higher $11.80 to $1,809.10 U.S. an ounce.