Stock Market Today: S&P 500 closes flat ahead of key inflation data, earnings

Investing.com-- The S&P 500 closed flat after swing between gains and losses Monday amid cautious trading ahead of the latest inflation reading as well as the start of the first-quarter earnings season later this week.

At 16:00 ET (20:00 GMT), Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11 points, or 0.03%, S&P 500 slipped 2 points, or 0.04%, and NASDAQ Composite rose 5 points, or 0.03%.

March CPI looms large /h2

The consumer price index and the core inflation, which strips out volatile food and fuel costs, for March due Wednesday, are expected to show a cooling to a 3.7% pace in the 12 months through March from from 3.8% the prior month.

As well as U.S. inflation, the Bank of Canada decision, FOMC minutes and Chinese inflation are also slated for Wednesday.

The upcoming FOMC minutes from its March minutes will provide more cues on potential rate cuts as well as plans for the central bank to rein in its quantitative tightening program.

"The March FOMC meeting minutes could reveal more details of the discussion surrounding the balance sheet.We also expect to see some discussion of the supply side improvement," UBS said in a note.

Traders now see a roughly 51% chance for a 25 basis point cut in June, according to the CME Fedwatch tool.

Q1 earnings begin, bank results on tap/h2

Major Wall Street banks will kickoff the earnings season in earnest later this week, with many eager for evidence on whether the upcoming earnings can justify recent run-up in stocks.

Major U.S. lenders JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Citigroup (NYSE:C), and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) will report earnings on Friday.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and top asset manager BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) will also provide quarterly updates during the week.

"This reporting season, investors will be focused on the breadth of corporate profits vs. strength in the largest TECH+ stocks," UBS said, adding that recent data and softer expectations heading into the earnigns season point to strong Q1 beats ahead.

Boeing slips, Tesla rebounds on Robotaxi update; Taiwan Semi jumps on CHIPS funding/h2

Boeing (NYSE:BA) stock fell 0.8% after an engine cover on a Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) aircraft – a Boeing 737-800 – fell off during takeoff in Denver and struck the wing flap, adding to the aircraft manufacturer’s recent malfunction issues.

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) rebounded 5% following its recent malaise after the electric vehicle maker said late Friday that it would unveil its robotaxi design on Aug. 8.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM)'s Arizona unit stuck an agreement with the Commerce Department, securing up to $6.6 billion in funding from the CHIPS and Science Act that looks to bolster domestic chipmaking activity.

Energy stocks stutter as oil prices drop amid Middle East tensions lessen/h2

Energy stocks were flat, pressured by falling oil prices as rising hopes for a possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict eased concerns of supply disruption from the oil-rich Middle East.

Teams from Israel and Hamas met in Egypt for renewed ceasefire talks, just days before the Eid holidays this week, while Israel pulled out some troops from southern Gaza.

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA), Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX), Schlumberger NV (NYSE:SLB) were the among the biggest losers in the energy sector.

Bitcoin tops $72K as halving countdown begins/h2

Cryptostocks including RIOT, MARA, COIN surged as bitcoin topped $72,000 for the first ever, driven by ongoing inflows into Bitcoin-spot exchange traded funds, pointing to healthy demand, and the upcoming halving event next week.

(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)

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