Equities were mixed in a light-volume post-holiday trading session. Many overseas markets were closed in observance of Easter. The Nasdaq was the best performing major index, gaining 0.22 percent. The S&P 500 index roses 0.10 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Russell 2000 Index fell 0.18 percent and 0.36 percent, respectively.
SPDR Energy (XLE) climbed 2.02 percent, powered by U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil. The U.S. issued waivers in November for countries importing Iranian oil, including China, India, Japan, Italy and South Korea. When those waivers expire on May 2, they will not be renewed. Crude oil spiked 2.70 percent to $65.70, nearly a six-month high.
Existing home sales hit an annualized pace of 5.21 million in March, slightly below forecasts. New home sales are out on Tuesday, with analysts forecasting an annualized pace of 656,000.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis will announce its advance estimate of first quarter GDP growth on Friday. The Atlanta Fed’s GDP Now model predicts 2.8 percent as of April 19. Analyst consensus calls for 2.3 percent growth.
Earnings season kicks into high gear this week with 34 percent of the S&P 500 reporting. Tuesday sees Proctor & Gamble (PG), Coca-Cola (KO), Texas Instruments (TXI), eBay (EBAY), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Twitter (TWTR) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW) report.
Facebook (FB), Boeing (BA), Anthem (ANTM), Caterpillar (CAT), Biogen (BIIB), Chipotle (CMG), Boston Scientific (BSX), Dominos Pizza (DPZ) and F5 Networks (FFIV) deliver earnings on Wednesday.
Thursday brings Amazon (AMZN), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), AbbVie (ABBV), Comcast (CMCSA), Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), D.R. Horton (DHI), Baxter International (BAX), Ford Motor (F), Aflac (AFL) and Capital One Financial (COF).
The week closes out with the energy giants Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX), along with Colgate-Palmolive (CL), AstraZeneca (AZN), WABCO (WBC) and Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM).