01:31 PM EDT, 04/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark stock indexes rose before a busy week for earnings, and gold slumped after midday Monday as Middle East concerns eased.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.7% to 5,002.6 with the Nasdaq Composite up 0.9% to 15,424.7 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.7% higher at 38,246.6. Financials and technology led the gainers, while the materials sector was the lone decliner.

Gold slumped 2.9% to $2,33.80 an ounce, and silver tumbled 5.7% to $27.21. Israel offered a restrained response to Iran's missile and drone attack earlier this month.

The appetite for precious metals fell ahead of Friday's release of the US personal, consumption, and expenditures data, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure.

"Gold made a couple of failed attempts above $2,400 last week, potentially signaling a short-term top followed by an overdue period of consolidation," Saxo Bank said in a note.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.2% to $83.28 a barrel, erasing earlier declines.

In company news, Cardinal Health ( CAH ) said Monday it will not renew its pharmaceutical distribution contracts with OptumRx, which will expire at the end of June. Shares of Cardinal slumped 4.9%, the biggest drop on the S&P.

Tesla's (TSLA) shares dropped 3.4%, the biggest decline on the Nasdaq, after the electric vehicle manufacturer lowered prices in several markets.

In equity markets, investors will focus on the 178 companies in the S&P reporting quarterly results this week, Deutsche Bank said in a note. The companies include Meta Platforms (META), Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) They account for almost 14% of the index's market cap. Tesla results are also due this week.

In economic news, the Chicago Federal Reserve's monthly National Activity Index rose to 0.15 in March from an upwardly revised 0.09 in February, compared with expectations for a decrease to 0.07 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

The US 10-year Treasury yield was little changed at 4.62%, while the two-year eased to 4.976% after topping 5% earlier