Dow, S&P 500 hit fresh records ahead of mega-cap tech earnings

• US stocks closed higher with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 hitting new records.
• The fresh highs came ahead of the top five US tech companies reporting their third-quarter earnings this week.
• Oil and gold prices climbed, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note slipped.

US stocks closed higher to begin the week as investors keenly awaited the slew of corporate earnings due up from the five largest technology companies in the country.

First on the line is Facebook, which will report its third-quarter results Monday after the market close. On the docket for Tuesday are Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet. Apple and Amazon will report on Thursday.

The major indexes swung between gains and losses but stayed in the green throughout the afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new high Monday, as did the benchmark S&P 500, lifted by the consumer discretionary, energy, and materials sectors. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index also rose.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Monday:

• S&P 500: 4,566.92, up 0.48%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 35,743.78, up 0.19%
• Nasdaq Composite: 15,226.71, up 0.90%

Also lined up are quarterly reports from Twitter, Visa, General Electric, and other big names, with a total of 165 companies in the S&P 500 due to report this week, according to Deutsche Bank.

While investors are optimistic big tech firms will deliver strong results, supply-chain issues remain the main risk to earnings, Michael J. Wilson, equity strategist at Morgan Stanley, said in a note Monday.

Following standout results from banks, earnings posted for the third quarter so far have been more mixed compared to previous quarters, he said.

"Last week saw a lot of companies discussing supply issues as a continued and more pervasive risk than initially thought," he added. "The result is plunging earnings revisions breadth for many sectors and the S&P 500 overall."

For now, however, US equities looked past inflation concerns and rising interest rates as the Federal Reserve continues to allay concerns that inflation is temporary, Chris Larkin, managing partner of trading at E-Trade Financial, said in a Monday note.

With equities demonstrating they favor earnings reports over macroeconomic indicators, Larkin said the market "could be in for a ride this week."

Pinterest fell as much as 15%, erasing all the gains it saw last week from news of deal talks, while PayPal surged as much as 6% after the payments giant said a merger is no longer under consideration.

Tesla also surged 11% to cross the $1 trillion valuation milestone for the first time ever on Monday, becoming the second-fastest in history to hit a hit that threshold. The electric carmaker only did so in 18 years.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note slipped to 1.638% from Friday's 1.654%. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

The oil market was mixed. West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.23%, to $83.57 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, climbed 0.35%, to $85.83 per barrel.

Gold jumped as much as 0.69%, to $1,806.80 per ounce.