US Nasdaq, S&P 500 ends at record

The US stocks climbed up on Monday, 26 April 2021, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq settling at record highs, amid solid corporate earnings and expectation that the Federal Reserve to maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy even as robust growth takes the world's largest economy back to pre-pandemic levels.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index fell 61.92 points or 0.18% to 33,982. The S&P 500 index increased 7.45 points or 0.18% to 4,188. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 121.97 points or 0.87% 14,139.

Investors will monitor a two-day Federal Reserve meeting beginning Tuesday, with the U.S. central bank expected to shine some light on whether the employment landscape has affected its plan to leave interest rates near zero for an extended time and to continue buying $120 billion in bonds each month.

Market participants are also watching out for any fresh developments on U.S. President Joe Biden's tax plan after reports last week said he would seek to nearly double the capital gains tax to 39.6% for wealthy individuals.

Shares in Tesla rose by 1.2% ahead of results expected after the bell on Monday. Of 124 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported so far, 85.5% have topped analysts' earnings estimates, with Refinitiv IBES data now predicting a 34.3% jump in profit growth.

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Commerce Department showed durable goods orders rose by 0.5% in March after falling by a revised 0.9% in February.

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