Major U.S. Indexes Finish Mixed as Investors Brace for Plethora of Earnings Reports

It was a dull day on Wall Street on Monday, which is typical after the long Easter week-end, but this year’s late holiday also corresponded with the start of the busiest week of corporate earnings season, keeping many of the major players on the sidelines. Volume was extremely low and there wasn’t much movement by the major stock indexes until late in the session. The mixed close also suggested investor indecision with investors showing more interest in technology and benchmark stocks than the blue chips.

In the cash market on Monday, the benchmark S&P 500 Index settled at 2907.97, up 2.94 or +0.11%. The technology-based NASDAQ Composite finished at 8015.27, up 17.21 or +0.23% and the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26511.05, down 48.49, or -0.19%.

The S&P 500 Index was supported by gains in energy shares. They were boosted by a 2.7% jump in crude oil after the Trump administration said it will stop allowing some countries to import Iranian crude oil.

The move, which could remove as much a 1 million barrels per day out of the oil market, will sharply accelerate the Trump administration’s goal of driving Iran’s oil exports to zero.

The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) closed 2.1% higher, led by Marathon Oil and Devon Energy.

The loss in the Dow Jones Industrial Average was attributed to a 1.3% drop in shares of Boeing. Sellers were motivated by a report in the New York Times that said workers at the company’s 787 jet plant have complained about shoddy production and bad safety practices.

Trading was subdued on Monday as investors prepared for quarterly earnings reports from more than 140 S&P 500 companies. As of April 18, the majority of corporate earnings reports have topped expectations. According to FactSet, “76.5% of the S&P 500 companies that have posted earnings have surpassed analyst estimates.” Most analysts had low expectations ahead of this earnings season with some forecasts predicting a 4.2% drop in profits. Some said this earnings season would produce the worst results since 2016.

On Monday, Halliburton and Kimberly-Clark reported better-than-expected quarterly results, driving up their shares 0.3% and 6.1% respectively. Later this week, investors will have the opportunity to react to quarterly results from a number of major companies including eBay, Facebook, Microsoft, Tesla Motors, Coca Cola, Procter & Gamble, United Technologies, Verizon, Twitter and Lockheed Martin.