Stocks Ended Higher on Upbeat Earnings

U.S. stocks ended higher on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 hovering near record highs amid upbeat company earnings. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 16.50 points, or 0.09%, to 18,533.05. The S&P 500 gained 5.15 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,166.89. The Nasdaq Composite added 26.20 points, or 0.52%, to 5,055.78.

International Business Machines Corp.(IBM) turned in better-than-expected financial results. It reported its second- quarter earnings declined to $2.5 billion, or $2.61 a share, from $3.45 billion, or $3.50 a share, a year ago. Revenue fell 3% to $20.24 billion.

Bank of America Corp (BAC) reported a 19-percent drop in second-quarter profit on Monday as growth in businesses from lending to trading failed to offset the impact of persistently low interest rates.Net income attributable to BofA’s common shareholders fell to $3.87 billion, or 36 cents per share, in the second quarter ended June 30, from $4.80 billion, or 43 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding special items, the bank earned 37 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 33 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Netflix (NFLX) reported disappointing Q2 numbers after the closing bell. Revenue of $1.2 billion was inline was guidance while earnings per share of $0.09 beat expectations, but guidance on earnings per share for the coming quarter was seen as disappointing, at $0.05 versus $0.08.

Oil prices settled down more than 1 percent on Monday after rising stockpiles of crude and refined fuel intensified fears another major glut was building up. Brent crude settled down 65 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $46.96 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled down 71 cents, or 1.6 percent, at $45.24 a barrel.