Stocks flat as Wall Street looks to earnings reports
The S&P 500 see-sawed on Monday and ended close to unchanged as investors girded for an expected rate hike at a Federal Reserve meeting this week and earnings from several large-cap growth companies. The Nasdaq ended lower, and S&P 500 technology and consumer discretionary led declines among major S&P sectors. The energy sector gained along with oil prices. "Right now we're just in a holding pattern waiting for all those developments to play out," said Michael O'Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Stamford, Connecticut. The Fed is expected to announce a 75 basis-point rate hike at the end of its two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, effectively ending pandemic-era support for the US economy. Comments by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell following the announcement will be key, as some investors worry that aggressive rate hikes could tip the US economy into recession. This week is expected to be the busiest in the second-quarter reporting period, with results from about 170 S&P 500 companies due. Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet are due to report on Tuesday. Apple and Amazon.com are set for Thursday. "It's a crucial earnings season for the market, especially given the (recent) attempt by Nasdaq to climb higher," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Nasdaq, which has led declines among major sectors this year, gained more than 3 percent last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.28 percent, to 31,990, the S&P 500 gained 0.13 percent, to 3,967 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.43 percent, to 11,783. After the closing bell, shares of Walmart were down more than 8 percent after the retailer said it was cutting its forecast for full-year profit and blamed food and fuel inflation. (Reuters)