S&P, Nasdaq rally to records ahead of Tesla earnings

Nasdaq books first record-high close since February

Stocks climbed to record highs Monday as investors prepared for Tesla's quarterly earnings report and the results from other mega-cap tech companies. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 44320.23 -164.26 -0.37%
SP500 S&P 500 6295.89 -1.47 -0.02%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 20881.843261 -3.81 -0.02%

The benchmark S&P 500 gained 0.18% and the Nasdaq Composite rallied 0.87% as both indexes finished at all-time highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, slipped 61 points, or 0.18%. 

While the S&P finished at record highs as early as last week, it was the Nasdaq's first record since February. 

The major averages received a lift after the Census Bureau said durable goods orders rose 0.5% in March, rebounding from a decline in the prior month. Excluding transportation, orders increased 1.6%, in line with forecasts. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
AAPL APPLE INC. 210.02 -0.14 -0.07%
AMZN AMAZON.COM INC. 223.88 +0.69 +0.31%
FB PROSHARES TRUST S&P 500 DYNAMIC BUFFER ETF 40.49 -0.02 -0.06%
GOOGL ALPHABET INC. 183.58 +0.61 +0.33%
MSFT MICROSOFT CORP. 511.70 +6.08 +1.20%

In stocks, tech giants Apple Inc., Amazon Inc., Facebook Inc. Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. will all release their quarterly results this week. But first, Tesla was expected to report a record quarterly profit after Monday's closing bell.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
TSLA TESLA INC. 319.41 -2.26 -0.70%

A pause on Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine was lifted late Friday after U.S. regulators concluded the benefits outweigh the risks. The vaccine was paused earlier this month after six women out of more than 7 million who received the inoculation developed blot clots. 

Elsewhere, Moderna Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine will be reviewed by World Health Organization experts on April 30 for possible emergency-use listing, Reuters reported, citing a WHO official. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
JNJ JOHNSON & JOHNSON 162.98 -1.80 -1.09%
MRNA MODERNA INC. 32.20 +0.14 +0.44%

Good news on COVID-19 helped lift travel-related names including American Airlines Group Inc., Carnival Corp. and Hilton Hotels Corp. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
AAL AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC. 12.45 +0.18 +1.47%
CCL CARNIVAL CORP. 29.45 +0.41 +1.41%
HLT HILTON WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS INC. 272.21 -1.26 -0.46%

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil lost 23 cents to $61.91 per barrel and gold edged up $2.20 to $1,779.20 an ounce.  

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Overseas markets were mixed. 

European markets reversed early losses with Britain’s FTSE 100 rallying 0.35%, France’s CAC 40 rising 0.28% and Germany's DAX 30 ticking up 0.11%. 

In Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.95%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 0.43% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.36%.