Investing.com – Wall Street edged forward after the opening bell on Monday as financial and technology stocks hit record highs.
The S&P 500 was up 0.23% at 9:45 AM ET (2:45 PM GMT) while the Dow composite rose 0.31% and the tech heavy NASDAQ Composite increased 0.30%.
In the financial sector, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) rose 1.63% as it continued a rally from its higher than expected earnings released on Friday. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) increased 0.59% and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) was up 1.14% after the two financial giants said they were assuming a hard Brexit. Citigroup (NYSE:C) fell 0.17%
Meanwhile, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) rose 0.32% while Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) increased 1.44% after Keybanc Capital analysts raised its rating of the tech giant. Social media site Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) fell 1.58% and Chinese online search provider Baidu Inc (NASDAQ:BIDU) jumped 1.43% after it picked Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) and Bank of America to help manage an IPO of its streaming site iQiyi.
Elsewhere, department store Macy’s Inc (NYSE:M) slumped 2.65% while Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) slid 6.00% after family members told the board they were suspending their efforts to take the retailer private.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) decreased 1.77% amid news that it had fired hundreds of employees for failing to meet targets as the luxury carmaker struggles to meet deadlines.
Investors are waiting for a flurry of earnings releases out later in the week. Video streaming site Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is expected to release its earnings later on Monday and rose 0.11%.
In Europe stocks were mixed as political uncertainty over the future of Spain lingers. The pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 were flat, as was London’s FTSE 100. In Spain, the IBEX 35 fell 0.78% while France’s CAC 40 rose 0.25% and Germany’s DAX increased 0.20%.
In commodities, gold futures rose to $1,307.01 an ounce while crude oil increased to $51.88 a barrel amid worry over Iraqi forces entering the oil city Kirkuk and diminishing exports from the OPEC’s second-largest oil producer.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, increased to 93.05.