STORY: Wall Street closed slightly higher on Monday, with the Dow and S&P 500 adding about two-tenths of a percent, and the Nasdaq edging up one-tenth of a percent.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq eked out their latest in a series of all-time closing highs, with AI optimism continuing to drive market gains.
Joe Hegener is founder and chief investment officer at Asterozoa Capital.
"I think what we're seeing today in markets is the consensus that an energy shock and generally speaking, geopolitical risk doesn't impact Mag 7 [Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla] or corporate, large-cap corporate earnings in any material way. We're seeing blowout numbers on these earnings releases from, you know, most of the S&P 500. And we think that earnings are only going to accelerate over the next few quarters."
Four-hundred-and-forty of the S&P 500 companies have reported first-quarter earnings. Among those, 83% have topped expectations, according to LSEG IBES.
Stocks on the move Monday included Intel, which rose another three-and-a-half percent after surging 14% on Friday on a report of a preliminary chip-making agreement with Apple. Peer Qualcomm jumped about eight-and-a-half percent to a record high.
Shares of media giant Fox Corporation rose more than seven-and-a-half percent after the company beat analysts' estimates for third-quarter revenue and profit. The strong quarter was driven by robust growth in its Tubi streaming service and increased fees from cable and satellite subscribers.
Among other movers, some airline stocks slipped as rising oil prices threatened to squeeze margins. Southwest, Delta, Alaska Air and United all fell between roughly three and four-and-a-half percent.
