Among the S&P 500's 11 major sectors, energy was the strongest, up 2%, while technologyWedbush's James pointed to underperformance in chip stocks, with the Philadelphia semiconductor index down 0.5%, potentially due to increasing global tensions withU.S. stocks have largely held steady through the start of the earnings season on stronger-than-expected results from big banks, allaying concerns about a contagion from the regional banking crisis in March.
Earnings forecasts have improved marginally, with analysts expecting a quarterly profit contraction of 4.7% versus a 5.1% decline estimated at the start of April. Mixed data last week cemented bets of a 25-basis-point rate hike by the Federal Reserve in May, with money market traders pricing in a 92% chance of such a move, according to CME Group's Fedwatch tool.