Many people used to ask “why is the U.S. stock market down today. But the U.S. stock market today started the week mostly on a positive note. Investors remain optimistic ahead of another Fed meeting and the release of reports from the country’s largest companies.

U.S. stock market live

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 percent to 31963.73 points.
• Standard & Poor’s 500 added 0.1% to 3,964.02 points.
• Only Nasdaq Composite had fallen 0.14% to 11817.76 by that time.

The meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve System will be held on July 26-27. Experts mostly expect the U.S. Central Bank to raise the benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points (bps) to 2.25-2.5%. but the U.S. stock market today also does not rule out the possibility of an immediate 100 bps increase. Investors will be watching closely for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s post-meeting statements.

The ongoing quarterly earnings season is also in the spotlight. This week, 175 companies in the S&P 500 Index are expected to report, including U.S. giants such as Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and amazon.com Inc.

Shares of half of the 30 companies included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average calculation are trading on the rise. The leaders in growth are Travelers Cos. Inc. (+1.5%), UnitedHealth Group Inc. (+1.4%) and Dow Inc. (+1.3%).

S&P 500 companies’ earnings growth averaged 4.8% after 21% of companies reported, according to FactSet analyst John Butters.

“If 4.8% becomes real growth (in profits) after the season ends, the figure will be at its lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2020 (4%),” Butters noted. Nevertheless, “68% of those already reporting above-forecast profits, and 65% reported revenue above experts’ expectations,” the analyst also added.

Centene Corp., a provider of health insurance and services, will sell businesses in Spain and Eastern Europe as part of a review of its portfolio of overseas assets. The company’s stock rose 1.3 percent.

Pharmaceutical company McKesson Corp. is up 2.5% after it decided to raise its quarterly dividend to 54 cents from 47 cents per share.

Gold miner Newmont Corp. ‘s capitalization is down 6.7% after its second-quarter earnings release. Newmont’s net income fell 41% on higher costs.