U.S. stocks opened higher as investors wait for the kick off of earnings from the largest technology companies as well as tariff news.
Verizon boosted its annual forecast, and Domino’s Pizza topped analysts’ estimates for second-quarter same-store sales before the opening bell. Of the 59 S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly earnings so far this season, 81.4% have surpassed Wall Street’s earnings expectations, compared with a long-term average of 67.1%, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data as of the end of last week.
However, the main events come later in the week, with Alphabet and Tesla, the first of the so-called “Magnificent Seven,” reporting earnings midweek. Investors will scrutinize their earnings to see if artificial intelligence spending remains strong or if President Donald Trump‘s tariffs and trade disputes are having any effect on outlooks.
Over the weekend, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called Aug. 1 the “hard deadline” for countries to start paying tariffs, though he also added that “nothing stops countries from talking to us after August 1.” However, he also expressed optimism that a deal with the EU would be struck.
Meanwhile, the European Union is planning retaliatory tariffs if the bloc can’t strike a deal with the U.S., Bloomberg reported. This comes after the FT said last week the U.S is looking at enacting a minumum 15% to 20% tariff on all EU goods with few exceptions. Trump earlier had threatened a 30% tariff on most EU imports, starting Aug. 1.
At 9:35 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow added 0.18%, or 80.65 points, to 44,422.84, the broad S&P 500 rose 0.24%, or 15.16 points, to 6,311.95, and the tech-laden Nasdaq gained 0.37%, or 76.21 points, to 20,971.86 The Nasdaq and S&P 500 continue to linger near record highs.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield dipped to 4.376%.
At 10 a.m. ET, June leading indicators are due. Leading indicators are seen as giving early warning signals of anticipated shifts in the business cycle.
Trump denied a Wall Street Journal report saying Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent persuaded the president not to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Bessent reportedly warned Trump of the possible effects on the economy and markets and the likely political and legal obstacles that such a move would face. He also said the Fed is already moving toward cutting interest rates later this year, and that the economy is doing well and markets have responded positively under the president’s policies, the story said, citing sources.
In a social media post, Trump disputed this account, saying he did not need anyone to explain this to him. He already knows what is good for markets and the U.S.
However, attacks on the Fed continue. Bessent suggested Monday morning in an interview on CNBC “what we need to do is examine the entire Federal Reserve institution and whether they have been successful. Has the organization succeeded in its mission? If this were the (Federal Aviation Administration) and we were having this many mistakes, we would go back and look at why has this happened.”
Cryptocurrency exchange Bullish filed to go public with the ticker symbol BLSH. As of March 31, the total trading volume since launch has exceeded $1.25 trillion, the company said in its filing. The company is backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel.
The filing comes after the blockbuster initial public offering of stablecoin issuer Circle. Circle shares have jumped more than sevenfold since its IPO in June.
Bitcoin was last up 0.96% at $118,415.00.
(This story was updated with new information.)
Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday.