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US stocks rose on Monday, extending last week’s rally into a week that is remarkably busy with corporate earnings, employment data, and a Federal Reserve policy meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite each gained 0.4%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.3%. Tesla (TSLA) shares soared after Elon Musk made a surprise weekend visit to China, the world’s largest auto market, and reportedly received approval from key officials to launch driver-assistance software in the country.
There is little doubt the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged at its meeting this week, meaning all eyes will be on policymakers’ messaging and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference on Wednesday. Companies reporting earnings this week include Amazon (AMZN), Eli Lilly (LLY), Mastercard (MA), and Apple (AAPL) and Novo Nordisk (NVO) on Thursday.
Onsemi (ON) shares gained nearly 4% Monday after the provider of semiconductors for the automotive industry posted stronger-than-expected results for the first quarter, but offered soft guidance as it said it faces tough economic conditions. Onsemi reported first-quarter diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.04, down from $1.28 in the year-ago period, but ahead of analyst forecasts compiled by Visible Alpha. Revenue declined 5% year-over-year to $1.86 billion, although that also was more than anticipated.
Apple (AAPL) shares jumped Monday after an upgrade by Bernstein analysts, who said in a note that the company is an “essential consumer brand” whose shares have fallen too much on investor worries about weak revenue and China growth. The analysts upgraded Apple, which reports quarterly earnings Thursday, to “Outperform” from “Market Perform.” They maintained their $195 price target on the iPhone maker.
The US Supreme Court declined to consider Elon Musk’s appeal of his “Twitter sitter” agreement, which the Tesla CEO said violated his right to free speech. The decision leaves in place an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Musk has all Tesla-related social media posts reviewed by a company lawyer before they are published.
The S&P 500 fell in each of the first three weeks of April as inflation data came in higher than expected and tensions in the Middle East ratcheted up. Christoper Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, wrote that financial markets are utterly useless in discounting geopolitics until events become impossible to ignore.
