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180 S&P 500 components set to report results this week
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Megacaps Nvidia and Amazon ( AMZN ) weigh on S&P, Nasdaq
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S&P still down more than 10% from February record
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Indexes: Dow up 0.28%, S&P up 0.06%, Nasdaq off 0.1%
(Adds prices, trading volume)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, April 28 (Reuters) -
The S&P 500 closed a choppy session nearly unchanged on
Monday, weighed down by megacaps as investors awaited several
catalysts including key economic data and earnings from some of
the largest U.S. companies.
Megacaps Nvidia, off 2.1%, and Amazon ( AMZN ),
down 0.7%, were the primary drags on the benchmark S&P 500 index
and also kept the Nasdaq in negative territory.
The Wall Street
Journal reported
on Sunday that China's Huawei Technologies was preparing to
test its artificial-intelligence processor, which it hopes can
replace some of Nvidia's ( NVDA ) higher-end products.
Of the so-called Magnificent Seven heavyweight companies,
Amazon ( AMZN ) is scheduled to report quarterly results later this week,
along with Apple ( AAPL ), Meta Platforms ( META ) and Microsoft ( MSFT )
. Apple ( AAPL ), up 0.4%, and Meta up 0.5%, both helped counter
the declines in Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Amazon ( AMZN ).
In all, 180 S&P 500 components are set to report earnings
this week, and investors are likely to closely monitor how U.S.
President Donald Trump's new tariffs could affect future
profits.
"We're going to get four of the Mag 7 reporting this week
and so this is a very important earnings week," said Jack Ablin,
chief investment officer at Cresset Capital in Chicago.
"I'd love to hear any kind of forward guidance and it
will be really interesting to hear some of these CEOs talk about
how they're planning to navigate the potential trade war."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 114.09
points, or 0.28%, to 40,227.59, the S&P 500 gained 3.54
points, or 0.06%, to 5,528.75 and the Nasdaq Composite
lost 16.81 points, or 0.10%, to 17,366.13.
The slight gain for the S&P 500 marked its fifth straight
daily advance, its longest streak of gains since early November.
Though first-quarter earnings from S&P 500 companies are
expected to climb 10.9% from a year ago, according to LSEG data,
many firms have warned of the uncertainty caused by U.S. trade
policy, with some cutting or completely pulling forecasts.
Of the 179 S&P companies that have reported, 78 had negative
earnings outlooks and 32 had positive forecasts, for a 2.4
ratio, slightly below the 2.6 in the year-ago period, LSEG data
showed.
Investors will also parse important economic data,
including the personal consumption expenditures price index and
a flurry of labor market data culminating in the monthly U.S.
payrolls report on Friday.
A 2.4% gain in Boeing ( BA ) shares helped keep the Dow
in positive territory after Bernstein raised the aircraft
maker's stock rating and price target.
Trading was choppy after stocks opened firmer, with the
S&P 500 and the Nasdaq briefly touching their highest levels
since April 2, prior to Trump's tariff announcement.
Markets have stabilized somewhat in recent weeks on optimism
over potential deals between the U.S. and its trading partners,
especially China.
However, a lack of clarity on Sino-U.S. negotiations has
kept the market sensitive to any developments. The S&P 500
remains about 10% below its February record high as
investors look for clues on the extent of any tariff damage.
A majority of economists polled by Reuters said the risks of
the global economy slipping into recession this year were high.
Spirit AeroSystems ( SPR ) shares advanced 2.6% after Airbus
reached a deal to take over some of the company's
plants.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2-to-1 ratio on
the NYSE and by a 1.27-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted three new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 47 new highs and 53
new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 17.05 billion shares,
compared with the 19.26 billion average for the full session
over the last 20 trading days.