The S&P 500 has notched an intraday record high for four sessions and its fifth all-time closing high this month, picking up pace from 2023, after a slow start to the year as investors reassessed their bets over the timing of rate cuts.

While a continued moderation in U.S. prices boosted investor sentiment on Friday, the enthusiasm was curbed by Intel's bleak first-quarter revenue outlook, pushing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to close lower on the day.

A slew of megacap earnings will be under investor lens after disappointing forecasts from Intel and Tesla last week prompted concerns about overvaluation of the momentum stocks that had rallied toward the end of last year.

Microsoft, which through its partnership with Open AI piqued market interest around artificial intelligence in 2023, is expected to report a 15.8% jump in quarterly revenue on Tuesday.

Results from Alphabet, Apple, Meta Platforms, Amazon.com and other major companies such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Qualcomm , Merck, Pfizer and Boeing are also due this week.

"With the market at record highs and valuations near the upper-end of its range over the last 20 years, any disappointments from the MAGMAN (big tech) names will likely lead to increased volatility over the coming weeks," said Larry Adam, chief investment officer, Private Client Group.

"It has been a fairly lackluster start to 4Q23 earnings as the percentage of companies beating on the top and bottom line have been below the historical average, and the magnitude of beats is at the lowest level since 2008."

With recent data indicating a resilient economy and inflation trending lower, hopes of a Goldilocks scenario - a not too hot or cold economy - have gained steam. The global focus this week will be the year's first U.S. monetary policy decision, expected on Wednesday.

Crucial job reports including JOLTS or Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey and the ADP National Employment will be thoroughly parsed before the Fed's policy decision for clues on the U.S. labor market strength.

Traders' bets reflect most expectations of rate cuts in June, with some for as early as March.

At 7:12 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 11 points, or 0.03%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 4.25 points, or 0.09%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 47.25 points, or 0.27%.

Intel rose 0.5% in premarket trade after the near 12% slide on Friday, while Tesla eyed its second day of recovery, up 0.6% after Thursday's slump.

Advanced Micro Devices rose 1.7% after brokerage Susquehanna lifted its target price on the chip maker to Street high of $210, while other chip stocks such as Broadcom and Nvidia rose around 1% each after steep losses last week.

Warner Bros Discovery lost 1.7% as brokerage Wells Fargo downgraded the streaming platform to "equal weight" from "overweight."