US: Stocks pause at records at start of heavy earnings week

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks finished little changed on Monday as markets awaited key earnings and economic data later in the week while weighing the potential for more gains after a heady period.

Investors greeted Sunday’s announcement that the United States had reached a trade deal with the European Union, as well as fresh talks that begun on Monday in Stockholm between Washington and Beijing.

But Angelo Kourkafas said the market’s “muted” reaction made sense given the heavy number of economic news releases this week that could move the market.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index finished up 0.3 per cent at 21,178.58, a new record.

The broad-based S&P 500 also nudged higher to a new record at 6,389.77, a gain of less than 0.1 per cent from Friday’s record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1 per cent to 44,837.56.

“Because markets have run a lot in a short amount of time, we may get some good enough news, but they may not elicit the same reaction as some of the good news over the last couple of weeks when valuations were lower than they are today,” Kourkafas said.

Besides ongoing trade negotiations, markets this week are looking ahead to earnings from large tech companies including Apple and Facebook parent Meta, as well as from industrial giants such as Boeing and ExxonMobil.

The calendar also includes a Federal Reserve decision on Wednesday, as well as the July jobs report and other key economic releases.

Among individual companies, Nike shot up 3.9 per cent following an upgrade from JPMorgan Chase. Briefing.com attributed some of the optimism to a US trade accord with Vietnam, which has eased worries about a major cost hit from tariffs. AFP