by Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Monday, buoyed by the financial and technology sectors, to open a week marked by the acceleration of the quarterly earnings season, including Tesla, Netflix and several major US banks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.22%, or 76.32 points, to 34,585.35 points.

The broader S&P-500 gained 17.37 points, or 0.39%, to 4,522.79 points.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced for its part by 131.25 points (0.93%) to 14,244.95 points.

Investors are particularly keen on corporate forecasts, as second-quarter S&P-500 company revenue is expected to fall 8.1%, according to Refinitiv data, from a 5.7% decline expected at the start. July.

“Obviously we’re going to have all these (earnings) releases. It looks to me like they’re going to be good and ultimately that’s how you value stocks – based on earnings and dividends,” commented Stephen Massocca, vice president of Wedbush Securities, in San Francisco.

“My biggest concern going forward is that the Fed starts doing things it doesn’t need to do to win its battle against inflation, ultimately starting to really hurt the economy,” did he declare.

Wall Street’s major indices have recently posted gains, with the S&P-500 and Nasdaq standing at 15-month highs, as indicators pointed to the resilience of the US economy, with lower inflation and a strong labor market.

Most market participants are expecting the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by 25 basis points at its monetary policy meeting next week, after pausing in June.

While JP Morgan and Citigroup are among the banks that unofficially kicked off earnings season last week, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are releasing their second quarter results this week.

The S&P-500 Banking Index, which fell in Friday’s session, rebounded, rising 1.76%.

On the value side, among the movements to note, Tesla took 3.20% after announcing on Saturday that it had produced its first Cybertruck after two years of postponements. General Motors and Rivian declined. Apple rose 1.73% after Morgan Stanley raised the firm’s price target, citing in particular the growth of its business in India. Activision Blizzard rose 3.49% as Microsoft, which wants to buy the video game publisher, reported the signing of an agreement to keep the famous “Call of Duty” franchise on PlayStation consoles.

In addition, Microsoft was given a two-month deadline in Britain on Monday to reach an agreement with the local competition regulator on the takeover of Activision.

AT&T plunged 6.69% to a 30-year low after Citi lowered its recommendation for the telecom operator.

( Jean Terzian)

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