Stocks Slip as Earnings Week Begins Amid Iran Tensions, Oil Surge Risk

Wall Street opened the week with caution as investors weighed a surge in corporate earnings reports against rising geopolitical risk tied to tensions between the United States and Iran.

Major indexes edged lower early Monday. The pullback comes after a recent rally pushed stocks to record levels, driven by strong earnings expectations. That momentum now faces a major test as nearly half of the S&P 500 prepares to report results over the coming days.

According to Raymond James, companies representing about 44% of the index’s total market value will release earnings this week. Early results have been strong. Data from LSEG shows that 81.3% of the 139 companies that have already reported beat analyst expectations, above the recent average of 78.1%.

Still, some analysts question how much weight investors should place on those results.

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