Stocks Up Firmly In Positive Territory, Look Set To End On Firm Note

U.S. stocks are up firmly in positive territory Monday afternoon, recovering well from a mid-morning setback. The major averages are all notably higher with the Nasdaq slightly outperforming the Dow and the S&P 500.

The market is up amid slightly easing fears of a wider Middle East conflict after Iran and Israel completed 'measured' counterattacks that were calibrated to avoid any casualties. A bit of bargain hunting is contributing as well to the market's rise.

Investors are awaiting a slew of key U.S. economic data this week, including reports on new home sales, durable goods orders and personal income and spending.

The Commerce Department's personal income and spending report includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.

Earnings season also starts to pick up steam this week, with Tesla (TSLA), Boeing (BA), IBM (IBM), Caterpillar (CAT), Honeywell (HON), Alphabet (GOOGL), Intel (INTC), Microsoft (MSFT), Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) among the companies due to report their quarterly results.

The Dow is up 290.70 points or 0.77 percent at 38,277.10. The S&P 500 is at 5,015.16, up 47.93 points or 0.96 percent, while the Nasdaq is up 172.96 points or 1.13 percent at 15,454.97.

Colgate Palolive is rising more than 8 percent. Ford is gaining nearly 6 percent. United Airlines Holdings, Nvidia, Philip Morris International, Goldman Sachs, American Airlines, Moderna, Citigroup, Travelers Companies, US Bancorp, Bank of America and General Motors are up 3 to 4.5 percent.

Salesforce.com shares are up after the company backed away from its talks to acquire data-management software firm Informatica.

Tesla is down more than 3 percent ahead of results. Verizon and Live Nation are also sharply lower. Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), while announcing weak profit and slightly higher revenues in its first quarter, on Monday maintained its fiscal 2024 earnings outlook. For 2024, Verizon continues to expect adjusted earnings per share of $4.50 to $4.70.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.0 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged by 1.8 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index shot up by 1.62 percent, the German DAX Index climbed 0.7 percent and the French CAC 40 Index ended up by 0.22 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are up 0.30 or 0.25 percent at 83.34 a barrel. Gold futures are down $69.30 or 2.87 percent at $2,344.50 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 154.78 yen versus the 154.64 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0651 compared to last Friday's $1.0656.

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