Publications
Partners
US equities were mixed as investors prepared for a deluge of earnings news. Oil jumped after the White House said it will scrap waivers that allow the purchase of some Iranian crude.
The S&P 500 Index was little changed, hovering about 1 percent away from a record. Tesla fell after Elon Musk began a Twitter dispute with the carmaker’s main lithium-ion battery supplier. Kimberly-Clark Corp., the maker of Kleenex and Huggies, rallied after first-quarter results beat estimates. The dollar was steady as 10-year Treasury yields inched higher.
In Asia, Chinese stocks and bonds fell as investors wagered future stimulus will be limited, while shares in Japan finished slightly higher. In Sri Lanka, bonds and the rupee slipped after Sunday’s terrorist attacks. The Easter holiday weekend shut trading in much of Europe.
With corporate reporting season in full flow, investors are looking for clues as to whether the dovish policy pivot from the world’s central banks can shore up global growth enough to outweigh any deterioration in the earnings picture. The stock market appears to be saying yes for now, with the U.S. equity benchmark near a record high and an MSCI gauge of global equities on track for a fourth month of gains.
"It's going to take something else to push the S&P 500 to new all-time highs," Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded "The Sevens Report" newsletter, wrote to clients Monday. "That was the main takeaway from last week, as good Chinese economic data, 'progress' on US-China trade, and dovish Fed utterances about average inflation failed to spur a rally in stocks - reflecting the fact that all those positives are now priced into markets."
Traders have a week full of company earnings releases to look forward to, including from major technology firms. They'll also be focused on the US economy, with first-quarter gross domestic product data due Friday.
