Stocks hit records ahead of Tesla earnings

Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Tesla all report this week

U.S. stock indexes battled to record highs Monday as investors awaited a busy week for earnings reporting from Big Tech and the latest policy decision from the Federal Reserve. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 88 points, or 0.25%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.24% and 0.03%, respectively. The early gains came after all three of the major averages closed at all-time highs on Friday and as the Fed was set to kick off its latest policy meeting.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 37986.4 +211.02 +0.56%
SP500 S&P 500 4967.23 -43.89 -0.88%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 15282.009722 -319.49 -2.05%

The Fed will start a two-day meeting on Tuesday. While no changes to its policy are expected, traders will be paying close attention to the central bank's commentary around inflation and when it may begin to taper its asset purchase program and start to raise interest rates.  

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In stocks, Tesla Inc. will be the first of several mega-cap tech companies to report earnings this week when the electric-car maker releases its results after Monday’s close. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
TSLA TESLA INC. 147.05 -2.88 -1.92%

Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc. and Microsoft Inc. will all report after Tuesday’s closing bell with Facebook Inc. on Wednesday and Amazon Inc. rounding out the releases following Thursday’s market close. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
GOOGL ALPHABET INC. 154.09 -1.92 -1.23%
AAPL APPLE INC. 165.00 -2.04 -1.22%
MSFT MICROSOFT CORP. 399.12 -5.15 -1.27%
AMZN AMAZON.COM INC. 174.63 -4.59 -2.56%

Elsewhere, crypto-linked companies surged as bitcoin topped $39,000 a coin following speculation Amazon was gearing up to accept the digital token. Bitcoin has rallied 31% since closing below $30,000 for the first time this year on July 19. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
COIN COINBASE GLOBAL INC. 211.01 -7.07 -3.24%
BITQ EXCHANGE TRADED CONCEPTS TRUST BITWISE CRYPTO INNOVATORS E 10.49 +0.14 +1.35%

Meanwhile, Chinese stocks traded in the U.S., including Alibaba Group and Baidu Inc. were sharply lower as regulators continued to tighten restrictions, ordering Tencent to give up its exclusive music licensing rights and announcing new rules for private tutoring companies. Authorities earlier this month initiated a cybersecurity probe against ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
BABA ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD. 69.07 +0.19 +0.28%
BIDU BAIDU INC. 95.05 -0.53 -0.55%
DIDI n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

In earnings, Hasbro Inc. reported earnings and revenue that exceeded Wall Street estimates as revenue from its entertainment business, which includes "Peppa Pig," soared 47% from a year ago. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
HAS HASBRO INC. 55.27 +0.33 +0.60%

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil slid 16 cents to $71.57 a barrel and gold lost $2.70 to $1,798.70 an ounce. 

Overseas markets were mostly weaker. 

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European bourses were mixed with Germany’s DAX 30 declining 0.32%, Britain’s FTSE 100 slipping 0.03% and France's CAC 30 rising 0.15%. 

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index plunged 4.13% and China’s Shanghai Composite tumbled 2.34% as Chinese regulators continued to clamp down. Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.04% as traders returned from a four-day weekend.