US stocks struggle for direction as focus shifts to Alphabet, Tesla earnings By Investing.com

Investing.com– U.S. stocks inched higher Tuesday, but gains were kept in check amid cautious trading ahead of quarterly earnings from big tech.

At 14:59 ET (18:59 GMT),  rose 58 points, or 0.2%, while the rose 0.1%, and the climbed 0.2%. 

Alphabet, Tesla set to kick off 'Magnificent 7′ earnings 

Alphabet (NASDAQ:) and Tesla (NASDAQ:) are set to kick off earnings from the 'Magnificent 7′ cohort of megacap tech stocks, which also include Apple Inc (NASDAQ:), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:)

Alphabet is set to offer more cues on how Wall Street’s internet giants are benefiting from artificial intelligence, as well as how much they are spending on developing the new technology.

Tesla’s earnings are set to show how the electric vehicle maker is navigating a sharp decrease in demand, while focus will also be on its promises of AI-driven autonomous driving and robotaxis. 

Coke, GE impress on earnings stage, but UPS, General Motors fall short

Coca-Cola (NYSE:) stock rose nearly 1% after the soft drinks giant raised its annual organic sales and profit forecast, signaling strong demand for its beverages in its U.S. and international markets.

GE Aerospace (NYSE:) stock rose more than 6% after the industrial giant raised its annual profit forecast on strong demand for its aftermarket services, including jet-engine parts.

General Motors Company (NYSE:) c more than 6% after the automaker said it would delay plans or to roll out a new Buick electric vehicle and pushed back plans for open an EV truck factor, with GM chief executive saying the reduced EV investment was to ensure the automaker doesn’t get ahead of demand.   

United Parcel Service (NYSE:) stock slumped more than 13% after the package delivery service reported disappointing second-quarter earnings, amid revenue weakness in the domestic business.

The slew of earnings this week is set to intensify, with about a quarter of S&P 500 set to report this week.

Political uncertainties persist 

Aside from corporate earnings, investors will also be keeping their eyes on the U.S. political outlook, with Vice President Kamala Harris looking likely to become the Democratic presidential nominee in the wake of President Joe Biden stating that he will not seek reelection. 

Recent polls showed Republican nominee Donald Trump was polling ahead of Biden and Harris, although it was unclear whether Harris’ nomination will shift this trend.

Trump said Tuesday he would be willing to debate Vice President Kamala Harris if she wins the roll call vote at the Democratic National Convention slated for next month.

Ether ETFs officially begin trading

fell more than 1% even as the first wave of ether-spot exchange traded funds begin trading. Ether ETFs from a slew of issuers including Blackrock (NYSE:), Fidelity, Invesco and others.

The approval of ether ETFs comes just over six months since the launch of spot-Bitcoin ETFs. 

(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)