US benchmark equity indexes ended mixed Monday as markets awaited major corporate earnings due later in the week.
Chip-making giant Nvidia (NVDA) is scheduled to report latest quarterly financial results later this week, along with other major names such as Walmart (WMT), Lowe's (LOW), Intuit (INTU), TJX (TJX), Medtronic (MDT), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Target (TGT) and Snowflake (SNOW).
* Some 92% of S&P 500 companies have reported results so far in the latest earnings cycle, with profits up 6.8% year over year on 5% revenue growth, Oppenheimer Asset Management said in a Monday note to clients. "At this stage of the cycle, about 75% of firms that have reported (third-quarter) earnings have beaten analyst estimates," the firm wrote.
* US homebuilder confidence increased for the third consecutive month in November as election uncertainty subsided, with builders forecasting market conditions to continue to improve following Donald Trump's return to the White House, according to National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo data.
* December West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed up $2.16 to settle at $69.16 per barrel, while January Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $2.33 to $73.37 after Equinor (EQNR) suspended production at the 500,000-barrel per day Johan Sverdrup field offshore Norway following a power outage.
* Tesla (TSLA) shares rose 5.4% amid reports that the incoming Trump administration may be considering a federal framework for autonomous vehicles in a move that RBC Capital Markets said could benefit the electric vehicle maker's robotaxi plan.
* Spirit Airlines (SAVE) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with support from a supermajority of its bond holders, as the budget airline seeks to reduce its debt, attain increased financial flexibility and invest in passenger services. The company's shares were down 18%.
