Stock market rally in focus after best month since 2020

August begins with investors looking to build on gains following the best month for U.S. equity markets since late 2020.
In the week ahead, the July jobs report and a continued flood of corporate results will remain top of mind for investors.
For the month of July, the $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$ gained 9.1%, fighting back from its worst start to a year since 1962 after the benchmark index plunged 20.6% in the first six months of 2020. The $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ rallied 12.3% to notch one of its best months on record, and the $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ rose 6.7% for the month.
A sharp rebound for equities in recent weeks comes amid expectations that slowing economic growth may prompt the Federal Reserve to scale back its interest rate hiking cycle in the fall.
Some better-than-expected earnings reports, particularly from heavyweights $Apple(AAPL.US)$ and $Amazon(AMZN.US)$ , have so far kept sentiment afloat, but second quarter figures are lackluster. Among S&P 500 companies that have reported results so far for Q2, companies are reporting earnings that are only 3.1% above estimates, below the five-year average of 8.8%, according to data from FactSet Research.