Stock market today: Indexes struggle for direction as investors await wave of data

171 companies within the S&P 500 are set to report second-quarter earnings this week, including Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms.

• US stocks closed mixed as investors awaited a wave of data this week, from earnings to the July jobs report.
• 171 S&P 500 companies, including Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon, will report Q2 earnings this week.
• The Federal Reserve's FOMC meeting on Wednesday is another key market-moving event this week.

US stock indexes closed mixed on Monday as investors awaited a massive wave of data this week.

171 companies within the S&P 500 are set to report their second-quarter earnings results this week, and expectations are high given the 15% year-to-date rally.

Some of the biggest companies including Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon will report results this week.

Of the 41% of S&P 500 companies that have already reported second-quarter earnings, 81% beat profit estimates by a median of 5%, while 59% beat revenue estimates by a median of 3%, according to data from Fundstrat.

Amid the steady stream of earnings data, investors will also turn their attention to the Federal Reserve's FOMC meeting on Wednesday.

The Fed is expected to keep interest rates unchanged, but Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will likely strike a dovish tone and set the market up for an interest rate cut in September.

"The Fed might adopt a more dovish tone at this week's meeting, reflecting recent comments and weakness in US data. While the disinflation process has been painfully slow, the fact that the unemployment rate has been climbing should start to worry some Fed officials that the current policy is far too restrictive than needed," market analyst Fawad Razaqzada at Forex.com said in an e-mail to Business Insider.

Finally, the July jobs report is set to be released on Friday, with economists expecting 190,000 jobs being added to the economy and the unemployment rate remaining unchanged at 4.1%.

The jobs report will help inform the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy going forward, as the Fed balances a steady economy with a falling inflation rate.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Monday:

• S&P 500: 5,463.54, up 0.1%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 40,539.93, down 0.1% (49 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 17,370.20, up 0.1%

Here's what else happened today:

• Morgan Stanley called Tesla a "top pick" in the US auto sector and said it could rise 40% to $310 per share.
• Bitcoin tested the $70,000 level after former President Donald Trump said if re-elected in November, he would turn the US into the "crypto capital of the planet."
• These are the 10 best performing stocks of all time, according to a recent research paper.
• The famed 'Big Short' investors said they were bullish on gold because of the steady devaluation of the US dollar.
• The rise of AI could force 12 million people to change their jobs in the coming years.
• The recent rise of de-dollarization is a fad that will backfire on countries, according to currency experts.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 1.65% to $75.89 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 1.65% to $79.79 a barrel.
• Gold was about flat at $2,381.80 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield dropped two basis points to 4.17%.
• Bitcoin fell 1.27% to $67,382.