U.S. stocks rose Monday as Goldman Sachs reported an earnings beat to start a busy week of quarterly reports, and as investors bet that the Federal Reserve will be less aggressive against inflation than feared.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 74 points, or 0.24%, after rising more than 350 points earlier in the session. S&P 500 gained 0.52%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.08%.
Investors anticipated a slew of major reports this week that will continue to shed light on the state of the U.S. economy. More big banks reported this week following mixed results last week from JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley.
“We expect the results to be generally okay,” said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. “I think focus will primarily be on margins and to the extent to which companies are able to pass along higher input costs, that’ll dictate where perhaps valuations can go.”
On Monday, Goldman Sachs posted earnings and revenue that easily beat expectations, even as CEO David Solomon said during an earnings call that inflation is “deeply entrenched” in the economy. Shares popped 2%.
Strong results from its fixed income operations helped Goldman Sachs offset a drop in investment banking revenue. Bond traders at the bank generated about $700 million more revenue than expected following greater trading activity in interest rates, commodities and currencies.
Bank of America reported quarterly revenue that beat analyst expectations, with shares ticking slightly higher. IBM will post results after the closing bell.
Other major companies set to report earnings this week include Johnson & Johnson, Netflix, Lockheed Martin, Tesla, United Airlines, Union Pacific and Verizon.
Despite the growing recession fears, S&P 500 companies are expected to post a 4.2% year-over-year increase in second-quarter profit, according to consensus analyst estimates gathered by FactSet. S&P 500 members are also expected to post a 10.2% increase in revenue for the period, according to FactSet.
Profit expectations for the full year are still high with S&P 500 companies estimated to post a 9.9% earnings increase for 2022, estimates collected by FactSet show.
Energy and consumer discretionary sectors led gains in the S&P 500 on Monday.
Cruise line stocks outperformed in the broader market index. Shares of Carnival Corporation surged nearly 8%. Royal Caribbean Group rallied 7% and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ shares gained nearly 8%.
Meanwhile, Boeing shares gained 2% on news that Delta Air Lines was buying 100 737 Max 10 planes.
Less aggressive Fed?
Stocks got a boost as investors wagered that the Fed will be less aggressive than feared at its meeting later this month. A Wall Street Journal report Sunday said the central bank is on track to lift interest rates by 75 basis points, instead of the full percentage point increase forecasted by some market participants.
Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius also said in an overnight note that he expected the Fed to raise rates by 0.75 percentage points.
Still, recession fears have been prominent in recent weeks as Wall Street considered decades-high inflation, sharply rising interest rates and an inverted yield curve signal.
“Markets are likely to remain volatile in the coming months and trade based on hopes and fears about economic growth and inflation,” Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, said in a recent note to clients.
“A more durable improvement in market sentiment is unlikely until there is a consistent decline both in headline and in core inflation readings to reassure investors that the threat of entrenched price rises is passing,” he added.
