US Stocks Jump at Mid-Session as Investors Shrug-Off Earnings Concerns

The major U.S. stock indexes are trading sharply higher at the mid-session on Monday after struggling in the pre-market session and shortly after the cash market opening.

At the start of the week, prices were subdued despite Friday’s strong finish as the major indexes struggled for direction at the start of another big week for corporate earnings amid concerns about a recession, while Salesforce rose on Monday as Elliott Management acquired a stake in the firm.

Big Week for Tech Stocks

A slew of earnings in the coming weeks will also test the current bounce in certain technology and growth stocks that took a large hit last year.

Companies which make up more than half the S&P 500 index’s market value will report earnings in the next two weeks, with Microsoft, the second-largest U.S. firm by market value, posting results on Tuesday. Tesla Inc and IBM on Wednesday and Intel on Thursday.

Mid-Session Stocks Making the Most Noise

Shares of cloud-based software firm Salesforce is leading the Dow higher after activist investor Elliott Management Corp made a multi-billion-dollar investment in the company, according to people familiar with the matter.

Salesforce is up 3.05% at the mid-session following the news. The announcement comes a few weeks after the company announced it would cut 10% of its staff and close some offices.

The Wall Street Journal broke the story.

Wayfair Moves Sharply Higher

Shares of the furniture retailer are up 26.8% at the mid-session on Monday after Wayfair received upgrades from multiple Wall Street firms, including a double upgrade to overweight from underweight at JPMorgan, CNBC reported.

The company announced on Friday that it would lay off about 10% of its global workforce as part of a cost-cutting plan. JPMorgan cited Wayfair management’s “newfound commitment to controlling expenses” in its upgrade note.

Skechers Gets Upgraded

Skechers popped 4.57% after Cowen upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform. The firm said there were potential upsides that Wall Street could be overlooking, CNBC said.

Layoff News Fuels Surprise Rally in Spotify

Spotify gained 2.07% after the company sent an internal memo to staff on Monday announcing plans to lay off 6% of its global workforce, or about 600 employees. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek admitted the streaming giant was “too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth, according to CNBC.

Short-Term Outlook

The three major U.S. stock indexes – Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite – are looking good at the mid-session. But keep in mind that there were little headwinds on Monday. There were no Fed speakers or earnings reports to possibly slow the rally.

We could see some profit-taking near the close as traders brace for key earnings reports and economic data later in the week including data on U.S. GDP, inflation and consumer spending.