By Chris Matthews and Mark DeCambre, MarketWatch

Citigroup earnings kick off a week of earnings reports

U.S. stocks eked out another round of records Monday, after closing at all-time highs last week, as investors digested second-quarter results from Citigroup and awaited a wave of second-quarter earnings.

How are the major benchmarks performing?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 27.13 points, or 0.1%, to set a new closing record of 27,359.16, the S&P 500 index added 0.53 point, or less than 0.1%, to end at 3,014.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 14.04 points to reach 8,258.19, a 0.2% increase. All three major indexes scored intraday records in early activity, turned lower and then edged back into positive territory in late trade.

On Friday, the Dow gained 244.02 points, or 0.90%, at 27,332.10, while the S&P 500 index added 13.83 points, or 0.5%, at 3,013.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed 48.10 points higher at 8,244.14, a gain of 0.6%.

What's driving the market?

Citigroup Inc. (C)said its second-quarter income rose 7% from a year ago (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/citigroup-profit-and-revenue-tops-estimates-2019-07-15-124854229), with profit at $4.8 billion, up from $4.49 billion a year ago and earnings come in at a better-than-expected $1.95, compared against consensus analysts' expectations for $1.81 a share.

The results also showed revenue came in at a hotter-than-estimated $18.76 billion, up 2% from $18.47 billion a year ago and better than the $18.5 billion projected by Refintiv. The results were seen potentially reflecting global economic resilience, with investors keenly watching for signs of the impact of Sino-American tariff wars, a regime of ultralow interest rates and a domestic slowdown buffeting global economies.

"Citigroup's Q2 earnings are generating somewhat mixed feelings," wrote Axel Pierron, managing director at capital markets consulting firm Opimas, in an email, adding that while earnings beat expectations based on strong growth in consumer banking revenue, investors were hoping to see the bank more aggressively tackle weak performance in its trading businesses by "reducing its operating costs [more] significantly" than the reported 2% cut in operating expenses for institutional clients suggests. Citigroup shares fell 0.4% midday Monday.

Check out: Why Citi's top stock-market analyst is 'worried' about second-half 'soft patch' (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-citis-top-stock-market-analyst-is-worried-about-a-second-half-soft-patch-2019-07-15)

Pressure on other bank stocks, led by J.P. Morgan(JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS) , were the two-biggest drags on the Dow, according to FactSet.

In Asia, Chinese stocks edged higher on a mixed bag of data that showed that the world's second-largest economy expanded at the slowest pace in 27 years, though measures of industrial production and retail sales came in better than expected, suggesting that government efforts to stimulate growth are finding some success.

China's gross domestic product, or GDP, in the second quarter slowed to 6.2%, marking its slowest pace since 1992 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-q2-gdp-grows-at-slowest-pace-in-27-years-2019-07-14) -- though mostly matching expectations -- from a reading of 6.4% in the first quarter. Industrial production in the country accelerated to 6.3% from 5.0% in June, ahead of the 5.2% consensus, while retail sales growth accelerated in June to 9.8%, above the 8.5% consensus.

"The GDP figures matched market expectations to the dot," wrote Carl Weinberg, chief international economist at High Frequency Economics, in a Monday note to clients. "For serious China watchers, the GDP headline is not very important. It is a backward looking indicator...the surge in monthly data for June is what has our attention."

Read: Earnings Watch: Expect drama in second-quarter numbers as trade fears weigh (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/earnings-watch-expect-drama-in-second-quarter-numbers-as-trade-fears-weigh-2019-07-15)

President Donald Trump on Monday took credit for the China slowdown (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-takes-victory-lap-for-slowdown-in-chinese-economy-2019-07-15), saying it would lead to more favorable trading terms with the world's second-largest economy. Over two tweets, Trump said China wants to make a trade deal and insisted that U.S. taxpayers aren't paying tariffs.

Markets have been mostly rising on the promise of easy-money policies from the likes of the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, with some investors speculating that anticipation a further round of monetary-policy stimulus from Beijing's central bank has also helped to soften the impact of a relatively weak GDP print.

Read:Rate cut with stock market at all-time highs? It's been done before -- but here's what's different (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rate-cut-with-stock-market-at-all-time-highs-its-been-done-before-2019-07-15)

On the economic data front, the New York Fed's Empire State manufacturing survey rebounded to 4.3 in July (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/empire-state-manufacturing-index-rebounds-in-july-after-steep-drop-2019-07-15), from minus 8.6 in June, and ahead of the 0.5 rise expected by economists, according to Econoday.

See:Banks should shine among S&P 500 stocks this earnings seaso (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/banks-should-shine-among-sp-500-stocks-this-earnings-season-2019-07-09)n (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/banks-should-shine-among-sp-500-stocks-this-earnings-season-2019-07-09)

Check out: This stock-market canary has keeled over (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-stock-market-canary-has-keeled-over-2019-07-12)

Read: With trade tensions escalating, here are 5 things to know about this earnings season (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-things-to-know-about-this-earnings-season-2019-07-12)

Which stocks are in focus?

Shares of Symantec Corp. (SYMC) shares tumbled 10.7% after CNBC reported (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/symantec-stock-plunges-after-cnbc-says-broadcom-deal-talks-have-ceased-2019-07-15) that it has ceased negotiations to acquire Broadcom Inc. (AVGO).

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) said it would invest $5.1 billion (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gilead-paying-51-billion-to-increase-its-stake-in-belgian-biotech-galapagos-2019-07-14) to raise its stake in Belgian biotechnology company Galapagos NV (GLPG.AE)(GLPG.AE). Galapagos shares rose 18.8% in Amsterdam.

Shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA(ABI.BT)were in focus (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/anheuser-busch-inbev-calls-off-asia-unit-ipo-2019-07-12)after the seller of Budweiser called off what would have been the largest initial public offering of the year, saying it wouldn't proceed with the nearly $10 billion listing of its Asian business. Anheuser's stock gained 1.86%.

How are other markets trading?

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell 0.014% to 2.092%

In Asia, stocks finished higher, with the China CSI 300 adding 0.4%, Japan's Nikkei 225 rising 0.2% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advancing 0.2%. European shares were marginally higher, with the Stoxx Europe 600 edging 0.4% higher.

In commodities markets, crude-oil prices fell 1.54% to $59.27. Gold prices , advanced 0.35% to $1,417.30.

The U.S. dollar edged 0.14% higher, as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 15, 2019 16:26 ET (20:26 GMT)