Dow Components: Earnings Season and Benchmarks Fare

dow components: What drove the market After a strong start to earnings season last week, investors began parsing the first of many major U.S. corporate earnings reports Monday, with 144 S&P 500 companies and a third of Dow components set to report this week, according to Market Watch. Investor optimism has been supported by a better-than-expected start to the Q2 EPS reporting season, as well as the ongoing possibility of a rate cut by the end of the month, said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA, in a Monday note. How did the major benchmarks fare The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, 0.65% rose 17.7 points, or 0.1%, at 27,171.9, while the S&P 500 index SPX, 0.68% advanced 8.42 points, or 0.3%, to 2,985.03, supported largely by gains in the information-technology sector up 1.2% . The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, 0.58% gained 57.65 points, or 0.7%, to trade at 8,204.14. Stocks were bruised late last week as investors scaled back expectations for a half-point rate cut after the New York Federal Reserve emphasized that dovishly interpreted remarks by its president, John Williams, weren't about potential policy actions at the next Fed meeting. Shares of energy services firm Haliburton Co.HAL, 0.42% ended the day 9.2% higher, after the company reported second-quarter profit that topped expectations. Also, The Wall Street Journal on Friday, citing public remarks and interviews, reported Fed officials were signaling a quarter-point cut when policy makers meet July 30-31. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.