Wall Street’s Week Ahead: Dow Jones Industrial Average Tops 18,000, Nasdaq Composite Rallies Above 5,000 Ahead Of Bank Earnings

dow — The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) gained more than 30 points Monday, while the Nasdaq composite (INDEXSP:.INX) rallied above 5,000 as investors prepare for a wave of quarterly results from major blue chips this week. Reuters

U.S. stocks traded higher Monday, with the Nasdaq composite leaping over the psychologically important 5,000 milestone, as investors prepare for a wave of quarterly financial results from the major U.S. banks this week. The Nasdaq's biotechnology index gained nearly 1 percent in morning trading after shares of Clovis Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ:CLVS) surged more than 11 percent to a new high of $89. Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating on the biopharmaceutical company Monday to Buy from Neutral.

In morning trading Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) gained 31.80 points, or 0.18 percent, to 18,089.45. The Standard & Poor's 500 (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) added 3.49 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,105.55. The Nasdaq composite (INDEXSP:.INX) rose 21.89 points, or 0.44 percent, to 5,017.85.

Economists are looking ahead to earnings from the financial sector this week, including banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Company on Tuesday, followed by Bank of America Corporation on Wednesday and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. on Thursday.

Other notable companies reporting this week include chipmaker Intel Corporation, diversified health care company Johnson & Johnson, the world's largest oilfield services company Schlumberger Limited and multinational conglomerate General Electric Company.

Meanwhile, shares of Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:SHLD) rose around 1 percent Monday to $43.29 after the retailer contributed 10 properties valued at $228 million in a joint venture deal with mall owner Simon Property Group Inc., designed to unlock the real estate value in the 10 properties.

Separately, China's exports unexpectedly tumbled nearly 15 percent in March, setting the stage for a disappointing economic outlook as the world’s second-largest economy prepares to report first-quarter gross domestic product Wednesday. China’s exports plunged 14.6 percent from a year earlier, while imports dropped 12.3 percent, figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show. Economists had expected exports to rise 12 percent and imports to drop 11.7 percent, say analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Wall Street expects China’s first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) to expand 7 percent on an annual basis, which would mark the weakest pace in six years, and down from an annual growth rate of 7.4 percent in the fourth quarter, Reuters data show.

Oil prices traded higher Monday amid a slowdown in U.S. drilling, as the number of rigs drilling for oil fell by 42 last week to 760, the largest decline in a month, Baker Hughes Incorporated said in a survey last week. West Texas Intermediate crude, the benchmark for U.S. oil prices, added more than 2 percent to $52.73 a barrel, for May 15 delivery, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the benchmark for global oil prices, rose 1.6 percent to $58.79 a barrel, for May 15 delivery, on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

Here's the economic calendar for the week of April 13. All listed times are EDT.

Monday

2 p.m. -- Federal Budget (March)

Non U.S.:

China -- Exports/Imports (March)

Tuesday

8:30 a.m. -- Retail Sales (March)
8:30 a.m. -- Producer Price Index (March)
10 a.m. -- Business Inventories (February)

Non U.S.:

Britain -- Consumer Price Index (March)

Wednesday

8:30 a.m. -- Empire State Index (April)
9:15 a.m. -- Industrial Production (March)
9:15 a.m. -- Capacity Utilization (March)
2 p.m. -- Federal Reserve Beige Book

Non U.S.:

China -- Gross Domestic Product (Q1)
Europe -- European Central Bank Interest Rate Decision; ECB Monetary Policy Statement and Press Conference
Canada -- Bank of Canada (BoC) Interest Rate Decision; BoC Monetary Policy Statement and Press Conference

Thursday