04:19 PM EDT, 07/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were higher Monday as Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 reached new all-time intraday highs amid gains in major tech stocks and a decline in Conference Board's leading economic index by 0.3% in June.

* The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite highs were driven by gains in major tech stocks such as Meta Platforms ( META ) and Amazon ( AMZN ) , which added more than 1% each. Investor sentiment remained upbeat as earnings season got off to a solid start. Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) shares also rose more than 2% ahead of its earnings release.

* So far, 62 S&P 500 companies have reported, with more than 85% surpassing expectations, CNBC reported Monday, citing data from FactSet.

* The Conference Board's leading economic index declined by 0.3% in June, in line with Bloomberg's survey, after remaining unchanged in May. Despite the drop, the board does not anticipate a recession, though it expects a significant slowdown in growth next year. Real GDP is projected to expand by 1.6% in 2024, with the effects of tariffs likely to weigh more heavily in the second half as rising prices dampen consumer spending, according to Justyna Zabinska-LaMonica, senior manager at the Conference Board.

* August West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $0.30 to settle at $67.04 per barrel, while September Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $0.25 to $69.03.

* Verizon Communications ( VZ ) shares were up about 4.2% after the company raised the lower end of its full-year earnings growth forecast following stronger-than-expected results for Q2.

* Molina Healthcare ( MOH ) shares were down about 3.5% after TD Cowen cut its price target on the stock to $283 from $369 while keeping a buy rating.