US STOCKS-Tesla lifts S&P 500 ahead of tech earnings wave

* Tesla to report Q1 earnings after markets close
* Financials, energy lead gains among S&P 500 sectors
* Indexes: Dow -0.05%, S&P 500 +0.28%, Nasdaq +0.88%

(Adds comment, updates prices to early afternoon)
By Shivani Kumaresan and Noel Randewich
April 26 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq climbed on
Monday, fueled by Tesla ahead of the electric car maker's
quarterly report, which kicks off this week's results from
several heavyweight growth companies.
Tesla Inc TSLA.O advanced 1.3%, with analysts expecting
the company to report a rise in first-quarter revenue following
record deliveries. Its results are due after markets close.
Companies that constitute about 40% of the S&P 500's market
cap report from Tuesday through Thursday, including Microsoft
Corp MSFT.O , Google parent Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O , Apple Inc
AAPL.O and Facebook Inc FB.O . Shares of the companies also
rose.
Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading higher,
with the materials index .SPLRCM gaining 0.7%, while utilities
.SPLRCU and consumer staples .SPLRCS led declines.
Of 124 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported so far,
85.5% have topped analysts' earnings estimates, with Refinitiv
IBES data now predicting a 34.3% jump in profit growth.
“We're way above the average for firms reporting earnings
above estimates. More important than the fact that they are
beating on estimates is that they are raising their expectations
and outlooks going forward, and that's giving the markets a nice
boost,” said Sal Bruno, Chief Investment Officer at IndexIQ.
Investors will monitor a two-day Federal Reserve meeting
beginning Tuesday, with the U.S. central bank expected to shine
some light on whether the employment landscape has affected its
plan to leave interest rates near zero for an extended time and
to continue buying $120 billion in bonds each month.

Also on investors' radar is a reading of first-quarter gross
domestic product later this week to gauge the pace of economic
recovery in the United States.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was down 0.05% at
34,027.49 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.28% to
4,191.78.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 0.88% to 14,139.80.
Market participants are also watching out for any fresh
developments on U.S. President Joe Biden's tax plan after
reports last week said he would seek to nearly double the
capital gains tax to 39.6% for wealthy individuals. Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related firms including Riot
Blockchain RIOT.O and Marathon Patent Group MARA.O rose more
than 5% each as bitcoin BTC=BTSP snapped five straight days of
losses.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.93-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.34-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 105 new 52-week highs and no new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 146 new highs and 18 new lows.