Dow Jones Today: Stocks Rise To Start Busy Earnings, Fed Week; Tesla Soars

Are Markets Underestimating Geopolitical Risk? The S&P 500 fell in each of the first three weeks of April as inflation data came in higher than expected and tensions in the Middle East ratcheted up. Geopolitics took a backseat to economic data and corporate earnings last week, “but the newsflow in the financial sphere pales into complete insignificance when compared with the tectonic shifts going on in geopolitics,” wrote Christoper Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, in a note distributed Sunday. The firm’s base case, he wrote, “is that financial markets are utterly useless in discounting geopolitics until events become impossible to ignore.” Markets, in Wood’s view, appear to think Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine tensions have peaked. But, with Congress’s recent passing of a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine and Israel, both conflicts will continue, raising the risks of a direct conflict between Russia and NATO and further provocations between Israel and Iran. Escalation of either conflict could put even more pressure on global oil supply, already crimped by OPEC production cuts and Russian sanctions. That could send prices higher, accelerating a recent uptick in inflation. By one Wells Fargo analyst\'s measure, oil hitting $100 per barrel would add half a percentage point to the Consumer Price Index. Oil at $120 a barrel could raise the index a full percentage point.Domino\'s Pizza Stock Climbs on Soaring Earnings Shares of Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) rose over 4% Monday morning after the pizza chain’s first-quarter results soared past estimates as its loyalty program and a deal with Uber Eats (UBER) drove sales. The world\'s biggest pizza company reported diluted earnings per share of $3.58, rising 22.2% from $2.93 in the year-ago period, with revenue increasing 5.9% year-over-year to $1.08 billion. Both exceeded the consensus estimate among analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha. Same-store sales were up 5.6%. CEO Russell Weiner said the chain’s same-store sales got a boost from “our new and improved Domino\'s Rewards loyalty program.” He added that Domino’s “went live” with marketing on Uber Eats, and that “we remain on track to exit the year at 3% or MORE of sales coming through this new channel.” With Monday\'s gains, shares of Domino’s Pizza were up more than 26% since the start of 2024. -Bill McCollSuper Micro Computer Chart Levels To Watch Heading Into Earnings Shares of server and data storage provider Super

Micro Computer (SMCI) remain in focus on Monday after recovering 20% last week ahead of the company’s earnings report due after Tuesday\'s close, amid expectations of quarterly sales growth driven by soaring demand for artificial intelligence (AI). Since reaching a record high in early March, the newest S&P 500 constituent has fallen as much as 45% over the past two months as investors may have used announcements of a share offering and the company’s decision to break away from its recent pattern of disclosing its preliminary results to take some profits. However, Super Micro Computer bulls returned from the sidelines last week to bid up the tech infrastructure company’s share price leading into earnings, halting three consecutive weeks of declines. Source: TradingView.com. Taking a look at the chart, the share price broke down below a head and shoulders pattern and 50-day moving average earlier this month, indicating a potential top in the stock. After the company’s earnings release, investors could monitor if the price can close above the pattern’s neckline around $925, a move that could lead to a retest of the all-time high of $1,229. A failure to reclaim this key chart level could spark another wave of selling down to the 200-day moving average, which currently sits at $478.90, around 44% below Friday’s closing price of $857.44. -Timothy SmithTesla Stock Surges After CEO Elon Musk’s Visit to China Tesla (TSLA) shares jumped over 11% in early trading Monday following reports that CEO Elon Musk\'s weekend trip to China brought a number of wins for the electric vehicle maker. Tesla reportedly cleared key data privacy hurdles and won tentative approval to deploy Tesla\'s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system in China, Tesla\'s second-largest market behind the U.S. The software is a source of revenue for Tesla in the U.S., with many users paying a monthly fee for it, and expanding it to China could boost the company\'s revenue and profit margins, which have taken hits in recent quarters. Tesla is also set to expand its partnership with Chinese tech giant Baidu (BIDU) to help with mapping and navigation for Tesla\'s operations in China. Tesla shares were up 10.6% to $186 about half an hour into Monday\'s session, though even at that price, they were down 25% year to date. -Aaron McDadeStocks Making the Biggest Moves Premarket Gains: Tesla (TSLA): Shares of the electric vehicle maker surged more than 12% amid reports CEO Elon Musk had received ap