Dow, SPX Score Record Closes Before Fed Decision

Wall Street is gearing up for this week's deluge of Big Tech earnings, while investors also await the Federal Reserve' interest rate decision. The Dow and S&P 500 both scored record closes, and the former logged its third-straight win. Elsewhere, the tech-heavy Nasdaq finished at a two-year high.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• Why call traders picked this fintech stock.
• Analyst downgraded lithium stock on "weak pricing."
• Plus, when to hedge; DLTR's bull note; and bulls blast SOFI.

5 Things to Know Today

1. Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley took aim at rival Donald Trump ahead of next month's GOP primary, saying the former president's tariff proposal would raise taxes on "every single American." (MarketWatch)
   
2. Amazon.com (AMZN) terminated its acquisition of vacuum-maker iRobot, and the Roomba maker subsequently announced it will lay off 31% of its employees. (CNBC)
3. Now is the time to hedge against the broader market.
4. Discount retail stock bounced after bull note.
5. Why bullish options traders targeted this fintech stock.

Tensions in Middle East Send Commodities Mixed

Oil prices snapped a three-day win streak, even after a drone strike Sunday killed three U.S. troops in Jordan. The deaths raise concerns about increased tensions in the Middle East, especially after U.S. President said the U.S. "shall respond" to the attack; however, the markets failed to reflect the dangers. For the session, March-dated West Texas Intermediate Crude (WTI) fell $1.23, or 1.6%, to finish at $76.78 a barrel.

While the escalation in the oil-rich region failed to dent crude, the move helped gold prices rise Monday.  The now most-active April-dated gold gained $8.50, or 0.4%, to settle at at $2,044.60 for the session.