US STOCKS-S&P 500 ends near flat with data, megacap earnings eyed

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK, April 28 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 closed a choppy session nearly unchanged on Monday, weighed down by megacaps as investors awaited several catalysts including key economic data and earnings from some of the largest U.S. companies.

Megacaps Nvidia NVDA.O and Amazon AMZN.O were the primary drags on the benchmark S&P 500 index and also served to keep the Nasdaq in check.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that China's Huawei Technologies was preparing to test its artificial-intelligence processor, which it hopes can replace some of Nvidia's higher-end products.

Of the so-called Magnificent Seven heavyweight companies, Amazon is scheduled to report quarterly results later this week, along with Apple AAPL.O, Meta Platforms META.O and Microsoft MSFT.O. Apple and Meta both rose to help counter the declines in Nvidia and Amazon.

In all, 180 S&P 500 components are set to report earnings this week, and investors are likely to closely monitor how U.S. President Donald Trump's new tariffs could affect future profits.

"We're going to get four of the Mag 7 reporting this week and so this is a very important earnings week," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Cresset Capital in Chicago.

"I'd love to hear any kind of forward guidance and it will be really interesting to hear some of these CEOs talk about how they're planning to navigate the potential trade war."

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 3.43 points, or 0.06%, to end at 5,528.37 points, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 17.35 points, or 0.10%, to 17,365.59. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 111.29 points, or 0.28%, to 40,224.79.

Though first-quarter earnings from S&P 500 companies are expected to climb 10.9% from a year ago, according to LSEG data, many firms have warned of the uncertainty caused by U.S. trade policy, with some cutting or completely pulling forecasts.

Of the 179 S&P companies that have reported, 78 had negative earnings outlooks and 32 had positive forecasts, for a 2.4 ratio, slightly below the 2.6 in the year-ago period, LSEG data showed.

Investors will also parse important economic data, including the personal consumption expenditures price index and a flurry of labor market data culminating in the monthly U.S. payrolls report on Friday.

A gain in Boeing BA.N shares helped keep the Dow in positive territory after Bernstein raised the aircraft maker's stock rating and price target.

Trading was choppy after stocks opened firmer, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq briefly touching their highest levels since April 2, prior to Trump's tariff announcement.

Markets have stabilized somewhat in recent weeks on optimism over potential deals between the U.S. and its trading partners, especially China.

However, a lack of clarity on Sino-U.S. negotiations has kept the market sensitive to any developments. The S&P 500 .SPX remains more than 10% below its February record high as investors look for clues on the extent of any tariff damage.

A majority of economists polled by Reuters said the risks of the global economy slipping into recession this year were high.

Spirit AeroSystems SPR.N shares advanced after Airbus AIR.PA reached a deal to take over some of the company's plants.