Stocks Opened Higher, Eyed on Earnings, Stimulus Talk

U.S. stocks rose Monday as investors considered another set of corporate earnings reports and stimulus discussions in Washington also remained a focal point. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately added 123.56 points, or 0.47%, to 26,551.88. The S&P 500 rose 15.23 points, or 0.47%, to 3,286.35. The Nasdaq Composite gained 116.23 points, or 1.08%, to 10,861.50.

Oil futures began August wavering between modest gains and losses early Monday, with OPEC and its allies scheduled to relax curbs on output against a backdrop of nervousness over rising COVID-19 cases. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery added 24 cents, or 0.6%, to $40.51 a barrel, while October Brent crude picked up 26 cents, or 0.6%, to $43.80 a barrel.

Tyson Foods (TSN) delivered adjusted earnings of $1.40 per share for its fiscal third quarter, or well above the 93 cent per share consensus estimate. Third-quarter sales of $10.02 billion were slightly below the $10.5 billion expected.

Clorox Co beat market estimates for quarterly net sales. Net sales rose to $1.98 billion from $1.63 billion in the fourth quarter ended June 30, beating Wall Street expectations of $1.87 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.