S&P 500 Closes Just Below All-Time High as Investors Await Earnings

S&P 500 Closes Just Below All-Time High as Investors Await Earnings

© Reuters.

By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com – The S&P 500 closed just below a record high Monday, but struggled for direction as investors awaited guidance from the start of quarterly earnings season this week. 

The fell 0.02%, to end the day just below its closing record of 4,128.80, the fell 0.16%, or 54 points, and the was down 0.36%.

Cyclical corners of the market - barring energy - were in the ascendency, led by real estate, consumer discretionary and financials, with the latter coming under the spotlight as major banks report quarterly earnings this week.

Major Wall Street banks reporting include JPMorgan (NYSE:), Citigroup (NYSE:), Bank of America (NYSE:), Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:).

Wall Street's outlook on quarterly earnings appears bullish, with cyclicals backed to show strong quarterly results.

"We anticipate S&P 500 Index earnings per share will grow by more than 30% this year with cyclical sectors such as industrials, consumer discretionary, materials, and financials leading the way," Wells Fargo said.

Energy stocks slipped on a retreat in oil prices from session highs as investors weighed up the progress on vaccinations against ongoing Covid-19 restrictions that threaten energy demand.  

Technology started the week on the backfoot