Technology shares led gains in U.S. stocks as investors awaited earnings from some of the biggest companies.

The Nasdaq 100 climbed amid gains for Apple Inc., Tesla Inc. and Microsoft Corp. The S&P 500 Index ended higher, though gains were limited after the top Senate Democrat said lawmakers said an aid package was unlikely before mid-March and a U.S. health official expressed concern about vaccination delays. GameStop Corp. extended its extreme volatility, more than doubling before paring most of the gains.

The picture was more negative in Europe, with equity benchmarks in France, Spain and the U.K. ending lower. The Stoxx 600 Travel & Leisure index lost 1.9 per cent amid news France may go into another lockdown, the U.K. may tighten border controls and as Israel moved to bar foreign flights from entering the country.

The S&P 500 is coming off its best week since November, and investors are looking for fresh catalysts to push the index higher or at least justify current valuations. That could come from a slate of earnings reports due this week that will shed light on how the biggest tech companies are faring and whether retailers, travel companies and restaurants are seeing any meaningful pickup in business.

“You’ve got 65 per cent of market cap reporting in the next two weeks,” Stuart Kaiser, head of derivatives research at UBS Group AG, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “The market had rotated into cyclical/value stocks at the end of last year and early into this year, and as earnings have started, I think they’ve been sort of reminded why they liked the leaders to begin with from last year.”

In Asia, stocks gained. Chinese internet firm Tencent Holdings Ltd. jumped 11 per cent, the biggest gain since 2011, as mainland traders sparked a buying frenzy.

Elsewhere in markets, crude oil in New York climbed toward US$53 a barrel and the dollar gained. Sovereign bond yields dipped while Bitcoin rebounded above US$34,000 before paring the advance.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 Index rose 0.4 per cent as of 4 p.m. New York time.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.8 per cent.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 1 per cent.
The MSCI Emerging Market Index climbed 1.2 per cent.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 per cent.
The euro decreased 0.3 per cent to US$1.2141.
The British pound fell 0.1 per cent to US$1.3668.
The Japanese yen was little changed at 103.77 per dollar.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined five basis points to 1.04 per cent.
Germany’s 10-year yield decreased four basis points to -0.55 per cent.
Britain’s 10-year yield fell five basis points to 0.26 per cent.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1 per cent to US$52.80 a barrel.
Gold was little changed at US$1,855.01 an ounce.