US stocks open higher as more states prepare to lift restrictions imposed on businesses amid coronavirus pandemic
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 90.88 points, or 0.38%, at the open to 23,866.15
- The S&P 500 opened higher by 17.91 points, or 0.63%, at 2,854.65, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 83.46 points, or 0.97%, to 8,717.98 at the opening bell
- A slew of big US companies, including Apple and Microsoft, are scheduled to report how much profit they made in the first three months of 2020
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
US stock markets opened higher on Monday as more states prepared to gradually lift restrictions they imposed on businesses to slow the sweep of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 90.88 points, or 0.38%, at the open to 23,866.15.
The S&P 500 opened higher by 17.91 points, or 0.63%, at 2,854.65, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 83.46 points, or 0.97%, to 8,717.98 at the opening bell.
The S&P 500 added 0.8% at the start of a week chockablock with market-moving events.
A slew of the biggest US companies, including Apple and Microsoft, are scheduled to report how much profit they made in the first three months of 2020.
A late session rally for tech majors had helped Wall Street end higher on Friday, with sentiment also getting a boost as Georgia became the first state to ease restrictions despite disapproval from President Donald Trump and health experts.
Although trillions of dollars in stimulus have helped the S&P 500 recover nearly 30% from March lows, with the economic damage only growing, analysts say more gains may be limited unless there is progress on treatments for the disease.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told reporters on Sunday the U.S. jobless rate would likely hit 16% or more in April. Against that, many more U.S. states were looking to reopen businesses.
Boeing Co gained 1.6% in premarket trading after it pulled out of a $4.2 billion deal to buy Brazil planemaker Embraer’s commercial jets division over the weekend.
With the Bank of Japan weighing in with more stimulus on Monday, focus this week will be on the Federal Reserve’s meeting ending on Wednesday, although expectations are low for more easing by the U.S. central bank.
About 173 companies in the S&P 500 are scheduled to report quarterly earnings this week, including Apple, Amazon.com, Microsoft, Boeing, Ford , General Electric and Chevron.
Overall, analysts expect a decline of nearly 15% in first-quarter earnings of S&P 500 companies, with profits for the energy sector estimated to have slumped 68%.
Apple gave up some early gains after a report said the company was delaying the production ramp-up of its flagship iPhones coming later this year by about a month.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc slipped 0.2% after the U.S. drugmaker and France’s Sanofi SA said they would continue a late-stage trial of their arthritis drug, Kevzara, in only COVID-19 patients who are critical, and discontinued the trial for those in the ‘severe’ group.
On behalf of The New York Stock Exchange, Tommy Gannon, Assistant Supervisor, Facilities rings The Opening Bell on Monday in New York