Stocks brace for earnings test

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Stocks kicked off 2011 with gains last week despite lackluster economic news, but the week ahead could be more challenging as the quarterly earnings season gets underway.




The S&P 500 rose more than 1% during the first trading week of 2011. Click the
chart for more stock market data.

Dow components Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500), Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) all report quarterly financial results next week. Apollo Group (APOL) and homebuilder Lennar (LEN), which are both among the S&P 500 companies, will also open their books.