Dow Dips, Nasdaq Soars

U.S. stocks traded mixed Monday afternoon as investors braced for a wave of quarterly results from corporations over the coming days.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45 points, or 0.17%, to 26,626, the S&P 500 rose 0.38% and the Nasdaq was jumping 1.24%.

Earnings from corporations including Microsoft, Tesla and Intel, are among a parade of entities that could offer greater insight about the economic outlook as American corporations contend with the worst pandemic in more than 100 years.

Traders also turned their eyes to Washington as lawmakers begin negotiations on new stimulus measures.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed a stimulus package worth roughly $2 trillion which expanded unemployment benefits for those laid off during the pandemic. Among these expanded benefits, a $600-a-week check was included. However, these extra payments are set to expire later this month.

Amazon was advancing 4%. Shares of the e-commerce giant got a boost after a Goldman Sachs analyst hiked his price target on the stock to $3,800 per share.

Chevron (CVX) said Monday it reached an agreement to buy Noble Energy (NBL) for $5 billion in stock in what marks the biggest oil-patch tie-up since the coronavirus pandemic began four months ago.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell less than 2 basis points to 0.606% and the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond edged down to 1.302%. Yields move inversely to prices.