Despite economic and interest-rate pressures, U.S. corporate earnings were better than expected

Global stocks ended last week in positive territory, as better-than-expected corporate earnings in the U.S. aided consumer optimism despite economic and interest-rate pressures. The first look at second-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will come on Thursday, with the consensus expectation for a 0.5% growth rate, after the -1.6% reading from the first quarter of 2022.