NEW YORK, April 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Monday, ahead of a busy week of earnings and lingering uncertainty over trade negotiations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 114.09 points, or 0.28 percent, to 40,227.59. The S&P 500 added 3.54 points, or 0.06 percent, to 5,528.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 16.81 points, or 0.10 percent, to 17,366.13.
Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with utilities and real estate leading the gainers by going up 0.70 percent and 0.68 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, technology and consumer staples led the laggards by dropping 0.30 percent and 0.15 percent, respectively.
Pressure on the S&P 500 came largely from declines in several "Magnificent Seven" stocks set to report earnings in the coming days. Amazon slid 0.7 percent, and Microsoft dipped 0.18 percent. Nvidia and Alphabet also dragged the index lower, while Tesla climbed 0.33 percent.
While earnings for the previous quarter have been relatively strong - with 73 percent of companies beating analyst expectations, according to FactSet - the figure remains slightly below the five-year average of 77 percent. Wall Street is also turning cautious for the second quarter and the full year, as many companies issue uncertain forecasts in light of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies.
Adding to the uncertainty, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday provided little new information on the status of U.S.-China trade talks, saying the burden was not on the United States. Still, he noted progress with other countries, indicating that a deal with India could be among the first to materialize.
"Recent days have brought indications of some easing in U.S.-China trade tensions, with both sides chipping away at the unsustainable tariff rates implemented earlier this month and the U.S. signaling some intent to de-escalate," wrote Barclays economist Jonathan Millar in a recent note. "This is mostly talk, for now, and we remain skeptical that there will be enough concrete momentum in trade discussions to sidestep a U.S. recession."
Texas manufacturers' general business activity index for April dropped to -35.8 from -16.3 in March, reaching its lowest reading since May 2020, according to the latest survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas issued on Monday.
Investors are also bracing for a heavy slate of economic data this week, including multiple labor market reports, key inflation readings, and first-quarter GDP results. "We're going to get four of the Mag Seven reporting this week and so this is a very important earnings week," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Cresset Capital in Chicago.
