01:19 PM EDT, 10/14/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes rose on Monday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average touching fresh intraday record highs, as investors expect earnings this week to build on the optimistic start last Friday from mega-cap banks.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8% to 18,498.2, with the S&P 500 up 0.7% to 5,856.8 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.4% higher at 43,046.5 after midday on Monday. The S&P 500 and the Dow touched new 52-week highs earlier in the session. All sectors, except energy, rose intraday, with technology and utilities the standout gainers.

Quarterly earnings due this week include Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Citigroup (C), Morgan Stanley (MS), ASML Holdings (ASML), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM), and American Express (AXP). Last Friday, JPMorgan Chase's (JPM) Q3 earnings unexpectedly rose year over year while revenue topped market estimates. Wells Fargo's (WFC) Q3 earnings also beat. Given the recent stock market gains, investors generally expect earnings to do the heavy lifting as a multiple expansion is unlikely to take indexes meaningfully higher from current levels.

Meanwhile, top Fed officials on the speaking circuit Monday are Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Fed Governor Christopher Waller. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee are among the others this week whose views investors will parse to assess the path ahead for interest rates after mixed inflation data last week, which in turn followed a blowout nonfarm payrolls report early in October that all but killed expectations for another 50 basis points interest rate cut.

As of the CME Group's FedWatch Tool Monday, the probability of a 25 basis-point rate reduction on Nov. 7 is 87%, and the remaining 13% likelihood is for a pause in the 4.75% to 5% target range.

US Treasury yields were mixed intraday, with the 10-year yield steady at 4.1% and the two-year rate 4.6 basis points lower at 3.95%.

The CBOE Volatility Index, also known as the fear gauge for investors, dropped 3.3% to 19.79.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil slumped 2% to $74.04 a barrel.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cut its 2024 and 2025 global oil demand projections while holding supply estimates steady. In its latest monthly oil report, the cartel lowered its demand growth estimate for this year to 1.93 million barrels a day from 2.03 million barrels projected in September. The revision reflects "actual data" received and slightly lower demand expectations in some regions.

In company news, Longboard Pharmaceuticals ( LBPH ) agreed to be acquired by Danish pharmaceutical company H. Lundbeck in a deal with an equity value of about $2.6 billion. Longboard shares rose more than 51%.

BNP Paribas Exane initiated Vistra ( VST ) at outperform, with a $231 price target. Its shares jumped 5.7% intraday, the top gainer on the S&P 500.

Gold fell 0.4% to $2,664.71 an ounce, and silver declined 1.2% to $31.36.