Stock Market Today: Dow Set to Open Higher; Microsoft, Apple, and Meta Earnings This Week; the Fed Meets; Bitcoin; and More

Encouraging inflation data on Friday have raised hopes even higher that the Fed will soon start lowering interest rates, which would help stocks by making it cheaper for companies to borrow money. Earnings from Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft also move markets this week.

Bond yields were a little lower. The rate on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond was at 4.171%, compared with 4.247% late Friday. The yield on the 2-year note was at 4.381%.

Tech stocks were rallying to start the biggest week of the of the quarter for Big Tech earnings.

The S&P 500 was up 0.5% despite 230 of its stocks trading lower on the day. It was led by ON Semiconductor, which surged 12% on earnings. Tesla was also up 4.4%. At the sector level, the S&P 500’s technology and consumer discretionary sectors were leading the way, followed by communication services.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.7%. The Dow was up 22 points, or 0.1%, after opening higher, then turning lower.

This will be the most consequential week for the stock market in some time, with roughly 35% of the S&P 500 set to report quarterly results. None will be more important than the Magnificent Seven lineup of Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple, and Amazon.com. Any one of those firms could sway the broader tech and semiconductor sectors with comments on expectations for the rest of the year.

It doesn’t stop with earnings. Updates on the labor market and key central bank decisions will be headlined by Wednesday’ Federal Open Market Committee interest-rate decision and Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report for July.

The stock market needs to see signs of resilience in the economy, but not too much to delay interest-rate cuts. Worries about a possible recession would also not bode well for the rally. Signs of growing demand for AI chips would be a boon for Nvidia and other AI-linked stocks.

That was fast. The Dow slid shortly after the market opened.

The blue-chip index was down 104 points, or 0.3%, after initially opening higher. The Dow is coming off a stellar performance on Friday where it surged 1.6% amid a broader market rally led by 3M. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.8%. The S&P 500 was up 0.4%.

Now the index must weather a wave of key earnings reports, economic data, and a Federal Reserve meeting that will all likely have major implications for the path forward for stocks.