The Dow Jones Industrial closed just below 35,000 as investors turned optimistic ahead of the second-quarter earnings season set to start this week. All three market benchmarks notched fresh record highs.

Second quarter earnings are expected to rise by more than 64% from their pandemic-depressed 2020 levels, according to estimates collected by FactSet. If that estimates is reached, it will be the largest growth rate since the last quarter of 2009 as the market was recovering from the financial crisis, according to CNBC.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM  ) and Goldman Sachs (GS  ) will be among the first major companies to report Q2 earnings before opening bell on Tuesday.

Here's how the market settled on Monday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): +0.34% or +15.07 points to 4,384.62

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): +0.36% or +126.02 points to 34,996.18

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): +0.21% or +31.32 points to 14,733.24

Microsoft to acquire cybersecurity firm RiskIQ:

Microsoft (MSFT  ) announced Monday that the tech giant has agreed to acquire the cybersecurity start-up RiskIQ for undisclosed terms.

RiskIQ's platfrom searches the internet, mapping out details about websites and networks, domain name records, certificates, and other information to give customers visibility into how their assets and devices can be accessed outside of a firewall. The purchase will allow Microsoft to integrate RiskIQ's threat intelligence services into the company's flagship security offerings, including Defender for Office 365 and Cloud App Security.

The new deal is expected to help Microsoft expand its security business, which is one of its fastest growing segments in recent years.

Inflation expectations reach highest reading on record for June:

The June Survey of Consumer Expectations conducted by the Federal Reserve's New York District released Monday showed that median inflation expectations over the next 12 months increased by 4.8%, a 0.8 percentage point rise from May and the highest reading for the survey on record.

Moreover, outlook for the next three years remained unchanged at 3.6%, which is above the central bank's key 2% level which is considered healthy for a growing economy.

Central bank officials still expect current inflation levels to be temporary, with elevated inflation to only last for the next few years before receding back to the 2% target range.

Virgin Galactic shares fall despite successful weekend test flight:

Virgin Galactic (SPCE  ) shares fell over 17% on Monday after the space tourism company filed to sell up to $500 million in stock following it completing a successful test flight with founder Sir Richard Branson on board for the first time over the weekend.

The company said in an U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that any funds raised would be used "for general corporate purposes, including working capital, general and administrative matters and capital expenditures for its manufacturing capabilities, development of its spaceship fleet and other infrastructure improvements."

The test flight with Branson was seen as a key milestone for the company before re-launching tickets sales for commercial space flights with passengers, which have been on hold since 2014.

Here's how the market opened to start the week:

S&P 500 Index: -0.02% or -0.90 points to 4,368.65

Dow Jones Industrial Average: -0.19% or -66.74 points to 34,803.42

Nasdaq Composite Index: +0.21% or +30.90 points to 14,590.83