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The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%, or 79 points, and the Nasdaq was up 0.9%.
Financials rallied more than 1% as investors anticipate further signs of the strength in banks ahead of quarterly results from Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) due Tuesday and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) due Wednesday.
Sentiment on major banks was boosted last week following better-than-expected quarterly results from JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), though Citi was the odd one after its earnings fell short of analyst expectations.
UBS, however, warned against extrapolating the better-than-expected results to other banks, and expects “tougher results from regional banks.”
PNC Financial Services Group Inc (NYSE:PNC) and Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL), which are down sharply year-to-date, are slated to report earnings on Friday.
A rise in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and semiconductor stocks including NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) pushed the broader tech sector more than 1% higher as AI-driven optimism ahead of tech earnings persists.
“We believe overall the tech sector will be up another 12%-15% in the second half of this year led by software and the chip sector with Big Tech remaining the “torch bearer” for this tech rally continuing to heat up,” Wedbush said in a note.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), meanwhile, traded just above the flatline even as its pending $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ:ATVI) inched closer after the Federal Trade Commission lost its appeal to pause the deal.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was up more than 2% after starting production of its Cybertruck in Texas, with the EV maker expected to ship around 2,000 units this year, Deutsche Bank estimated.
The gains come just ahead of Tesla’s quarterly results due Wednesday, in which the margins are likely to dominate attention following recent price cuts.
“The big focus on this print will be Auto GM (ex credits) to gauge the impact of the price cuts and what this means for margins going forward,” Wedbush said in a note.
Ford Motor (NYSE:F), meanwhile, fell more than 2% after cutting prices of its F-150 Lightning by up to $10,000 amid increased competition from Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) and Tesla’s Cybertruck.
Paramount Global’s (NASDAQ:PARA) “Mission: Impossible” movie underperformed expectations at the box office, sending the entertainment company’s share more than 4% lower.
The latest installment in the Mission Impossible franchise racked in $56.2 million domestically over the weekend, below expectations of at least $60 million or more, which would have marked a new franchise record.
