Stocks opened slightly higher on Monday ahead of a big week for earnings. The gains came even as expectations of aggressive policy easing from the Federal Reserve dampen.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked ahead 13.1 points to 27,167.30
The S&P 500 gained 6.18 points to 2,982.79,
The NASDAQ Composite improved 43.23 points to 8,189.72
More than a quarter of the S&P 500 reports earnings this week including so-called FANG names Facebook, Alphabet and Amazon, along with blue chips like McDonald's and Boeing. Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet all traded higher on Monday and are also set to report quarterly numbers this week.
So far, more than 15% of the S&P 500 has posted quarterly results. Of those companies, 78.5% have topped analyst expectations for earnings while 67% have reported better-than-expected quarterly revenues
Market expectations for a 25 basis-point rate cut later this month are at 75.5%. Meanwhile, traders are also pricing in a 24.5% chance of a 50 basis-point cut.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury moved upward, dropping yields to 2.04% from Friday's 2.05%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added 42 cents at $56.05 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices took on $1.40 to $1,428.10 U.S. an ounce.