Nasdaq hits record ahead of Apple, Microsoft earnings this week

The Nasdaq Composite soared to a record high Monday morning as investors readied for a busy week of technology earnings.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was higher by 1.06% while the S&P 500 rose 0.28%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, was down 134 points, or 0.43%.

The early advance has the Nasdaq on track for a fourth straight record-high close as investors await earnings from heavyweights Apple Inc., Facebook Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Tesla Inc. later this week.

Other companies set to report their quarterly results this week include McDonald’s Corp. and Starbucks Corp. as well as the major airlines, among others.

Elsewhere, Merck & Co. ended its pursuit of a COVID-19 vaccine and will instead focus on the development of therapeutics for those who already have the disease.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved for emergency use in Australia and AstraZeneca Plc told European Union officials that production problems would result in the delivery of 60% fewer vaccines than promised in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, AMC Entertainment raised $917 million in debt and equity, tabling talk the embattled movie chain would file for bankruptcy. The company said the funds extends its financial runway “deep into 2021.”

GameStop shares squeezed higher Monday as short-sellers continued to rush for the exit after short interest recently reached more than 150% of shares outstanding. The stock had soared 226% from its Jan. 12 close through Friday.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped 9 cents to $52.18 per barrel and gold added $8.20 to $1,864.40 per ounce.

European markets were lower across the board with Britain’s FTSE 100 weaker by 0.92% while France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX 30 were both down 1.22%.

In Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite index added 0.49%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.67% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 2.41%.