US stocks trading with decent gains, ignore geopolitical tensions and weaker data

After an extended Easter holiday weekend, major US equity indices resumed trading on Monday and posted strong gains during opening hour. 

Investors seemed to have shrugged off disappointing US economic data, including a sharp drop in the Empire State Manufacturing Index, falling to a reading of 5.2 in April from a two-year high of 16.4 in March. Moreover, investors also got the first chance to react to a duo of disappointing US macro data, released on Friday - March retail sales and the latest CPI print.

Meanwhile, market seems to have largely ignored rising geopolitical tensions, especially after N. Korea's latest failed ballistic missile test over the weekend, which tends to dent sentiment surrounding riskier assets - like equities. 

At the time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose over 65-points to 20,520, while broader S&P 500 Index added nearly 7-points to 2,335. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced around 20-points to 5,825.

Equity investors now gear up for this week's quarterly earnings report, which would be evaluated to see whether the current valuations, following post-US election rally, are justified or not.