Stock Market Today: Stocks Maintain Altitude With Q2 Earnings on Deck
Optimism over what should be a blowout Q2 earnings season helped lift the major indexes to new highs on an otherwise low-news Monday.
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Newsletter sign up Newsletter

The major indexes largely kicked off the new week the same way they exited the last: chalking up more gains from all-time-high perches.
On a slow-news day, much of the market's optimism was likely tied to what's to come – namely, the start of a second-quarter earnings season that many believe will be chock full of explosive year-over-year growth.
"As of today, the S&P 500 is expected to report (year-over-year) earnings growth of 64.0% for the second quarter," says John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet. "If 64.0% is the actual growth rate for the quarter, it will mark the highest earnings growth rate reported by the index since Q4 2009 (109.1%)."

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
A few individual names stood out in today's trade. Tesla (TSLA (opens in new tab), +4.4%) jumped after UBS analysts said the company should benefit from Germany's extension of a 9,000-euro subsidy for electric-vehicle purchases. And Disney (DIS (opens in new tab), +4.2%) gained after its latest Marvel movie, Black Widow, garnered $80 million at the box office and another $60 million-plus from its Disney+ streaming service.
The major indexes didn't move much, but they continued to reset the record books. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.4% to 34,996), S&P 500 Index (+0.4% to 4,384) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.2% to 14,733) all finished with fresh closing highs.
Other action in the stock market today:
- The small-cap Russell 2000 ended 0.08% higher at 2,281.
- L Brands (LB (opens in new tab)) jumped 4.2% after the retailer said its board of directors approved the spin-off of its Victoria's Secret brand into its own publicly traded company. The new firm will be named Victoria's Secret & Co. and will likely begin trading on Tuesday, Aug. 3, under the ticker "VSCO." L Brands, meanwhile, will change its name to Bath & Body Works, Inc., and is expected to begin trading under its new symbol, "BBWI," on Aug. 3, as well.
- It was another volatile session for Virgin Galactic (SPCE (opens in new tab)), which tumbled 17.3% after the company launched a test spaceflight this weekend that had founder Richard Branson onboard. Weighing on SPCE today, though, was news of its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to sell $500 million in common stock. Even with today's drop, the stock remains up 71.5% for the year to date.
- U.S. crude oil futures fell 0.6% to end at $74.10 per barrel.
- Gold futures slipped 0.3% to settle at $1,805.90 an ounce.
- The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 0.06% to 16.17.
- Bitcoin gave back 1.8% to $32,844.97. "After a 50% correction across the Crypto markets we are in a consolidation mode which is healthy for the next bull run," says Charlie Silver, CEO of Permission.io. "If [Bitcoin] holds support at 30k through the summer, I think we are poised for a great Q4 rally." (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m. each trading day.
Where to Find Above-Average Yield
It's hard to find much fault with a stock market that has regularly posted records for weeks. But one cohort of investors might have a minor gripe: It is awfully difficult to find high-quality sources of sufficient yield.
The S&P 500's yield has dropped to 1.34% from 1.91% a year ago, according to data from the Nasdaq's Quandl platform – its lowest yield since 2001.
Fortunately, there are always a few corners of the market that typically are good for above-average yield.
Master limited partnerships (MLPs), for instance, might be fewer in number than they were years ago, but mid-single-digit yields are commonplace among them. Many monthly dividend stocks and funds also tend to deliver ample income.
But if you value a variety of choices when assembling your income portfolio, we have a collection of stocks for you to start with. These 10 high-quality stocks each boast a yield of at least 4%, or three times the S&P 500 average, and each gets a collective favorable nod from the analysts that cover them.
Kyle Woodley is the Editor-in-Chief of Young and The Invested (opens in new tab), a site dedicated to improving the personal finances and financial literacy of parents and children. He also writes the weekly The Weekend Tea (opens in new tab) newsletter, which covers both news and analysis about spending, saving, investing, the economy and more.
Kyle was previously the Senior Investing Editor for Kiplinger.com, and the Managing Editor for InvestorPlace.com before that. His work has appeared in several outlets, including Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money, Barchart, The Globe & Mail and the Nasdaq. He also has appeared as a guest on Fox Business Network and Money Radio, among other shows and podcasts, and he has been quoted in several outlets, including MarketWatch, Vice and Univision. He is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University, where he earned a BA in journalism.
You can check out his thoughts on the markets (and more) at @KyleWoodley (opens in new tab).
-
-
Being Rich vs. Being Wealthy: What’s the Difference?
It’s all about where you put the zeros — having a large bank account isn’t the same as having zero regrets and focusing on what brings you joy.
By Andrew Rosen, CFP®, CEP • Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Close Higher in Volatile Session
The major indexes spent most of Thursday in rally mode, but selling pressure emerged in afternoon trading.
By Karee Venema • Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Close Higher in Volatile Session
The major indexes spent most of Thursday in rally mode, but selling pressure emerged in afternoon trading.
By Karee Venema • Published
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Amazon Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
Amazon AMZN stock has lost almost $900 billion in value since its all-time high, but bulls say it's only a matter of time before it reclaims its heights.
By Dan Burrows • Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Sink After Latest Fed Rate Hike
The major indexes sold off sharply Wednesday even amid signs the Fed's rate-hike campaign could be nearing an end.
By Karee Venema • Published
-
Stock Market Today: Markets Up Again as Bank, Energy Stocks Outperform
The major indexes closed higher for a second straight day ahead of tomorrow's highly anticipated Fed decision.
By Karee Venema • Published
-
9 Best Green Energy Stocks to Buy Now
The future for renewable energy is bright, and these green energy stocks are poised to profit on the growing trend toward sustainability.
By Deborah Yao • Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Rise Ahead of Fed
Bank headlines dominated another choppy day of trading on Wall Street.
By Karee Venema • Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Fall After First Republic Bank Suspends Dividend
The embattled lender's dividend cut was just the latest sign of instability in the banking industry.
By Karee Venema • Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Rally on Credit Suisse, First Republic Bank Rescue News
Reports that major U.S. banks would step in to help First Republic Bank helped stocks swing higher Thursday.
By Karee Venema • Published