MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Poised To Build On Rally, With Flood Of Earnings Ahead

McDonald's, Caterpillar among companies set to report results

U.S. stocks look set to continue the start-of-the-week rally, as investors focus on the prospect of tax reforms, though a flood of earnings from the likes of Caterpillar Inc. and McDonald's Corp could affect gains.

Investors will also be watching for data on confidence, home prices and home sales.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 47 points, or 0.2%, to 20,743, while S&P 500 futures added 2.75 points to 2,372.75. Nasdaq-100 futures added 8 points to 5,512.

Investors will be eager to see if stocks can make it another winning session going after Monday's rally (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-poised-to-rally-as-investors-breathe-sigh-of-relief-over-french-vote-2017-04-24), which was inspired by centrist Emmanuel Macron's win in the first round of the French presidential election. The DJIA soared 216.13 points, or 1.1%, to close at 20,763.89, while the S&P 500 gained 1.1% to end at 2,374.15.

Logging a record close, the Nasdaq Composite finished 1.2% higher at 5,983.82.

Analysts said the focus on European politics was being replaced by U.S. concerns. These include the tax reforms promised for Wednesday from the administration of U.S. President Trump, who will mark his first 100 days in office on Saturday.

Read: Trump seeks corporate tax rate of 15% in plan (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-seeks-corporate-tax-rate-of-15-in-plan-2017-04-24)

Bank stocks gained Monday, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) , which tracks the S&P 500's financials up 2.25% and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) , for instance, up nearly 3%.

That positive momentum could continue, "particularly if Trump can kick-start his reform plans around taxation," Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said in a note to clients.

In the back of investors' minds are worries about a potential government shutdown on Saturday. But those may have eased, after Trump backed off on a demand for border wall funding (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-backs-off-demand-for-immediate-border-wall-funding-2017-04-24) seen as blocking a deal.

See:Should Wall Street fear a government shutdown? How stocks fared in the past (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/should-wall-street-fear-a-government-shutdown-heres-how-stocks-fared-during-past-closures-2017-04-21)

Turning to data, the Case-Shiller U.S. home-price index for February will be released at 9 a.m. Eastern Time. The Conference Board's consumer confidence survey for April and new-home sales for March are both due at 10 a.m. Eastern.

Check out:After 17 years, S&P 500 tech sector finally regains lost ground (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/after-17-years-sp-500-tech-sector-finally-regains-lost-ground-2017-04-24)

Stocks on the move: An long list of companies are expected report ahead of the open: Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) , McDonald's Corp. (MCD) , DuPont (DD) , Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) , Biogen Inc. (BIIB) , Coca-Cola Co. (KO) , Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) and 3M Co. (MMM) .

Read:Three infrastructure stocks to buy -- regardless of Trump's spending plans (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/three-infrastructure-stocks-to-buy-regardless-of-trumps-spending-plans-2017-04-25)

Other markets: European stocks rose modestly (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-snag-modest-gains-after-french-election-rally-2017-04-25) after the prior day's French election rally, while in Asia , equities rose across the board (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-stocks-build-on-gains-and-this-time-china-joins-in-2017-04-24).

Investors in Asia were keeping a close eye on tensions in the Korean Peninsula. North Korea marked the anniversary of the founding its military with a large live-fire exercise, as a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group headed for the peninsula, reported Reuters (http://nypost.com/2017/04/25/north-korea-reportedly-conducts-live-fire-exercise-as-us-sub-docks-in-the-south/). There had been concerns that North Korea could mark Tuesday's anniversary with another nuclear test of that of a long-range missile.

See:White House calls in all 100 senators for unusual briefing on North Korea (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/white-house-to-brief-full-senate-as-trump-calls-north-korea-real-threat-to-the-world-2017-04-24)

The dollar rose against the yen, but fell against the euro and British pound .

Oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-rises-as-bargain-hunters-snap-to-attention-2017-04-25) marked gains after Monday's sharp pullback, while gold prices saw fresh losses, down $5.90 to $1,271.70 an ounce.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 25, 2017 06:11 ET (10:11 GMT)