Nasdaq falls ahead of Big Tech earnings
Stocks closed mixed on Tuesday — just ahead of the kickoff to Big Tech results.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the day’s declines, falling about 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.4% while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) traded flat. Notably, benchmark index failed to nab another record closing high.
On the earnings front, Microsoft (MSFT) shares spent time on both sides of the flatline in after-hours trading after the Big Tech giant reported after-the-bell earnings that beat on both the top and bottom lines. Cloud revenue also came in above expectations. Guidance will be released on the earnings call, the company said.
Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), meanwhile, saw shares fall roughly 5% as fourth quarter ad revenue missed expectations. The company did surpass expectations for both quarterly earnings and overall revenue.
Chipmaker AMD (AMD) fell about 2% after hours after the company reported fourth quarter revenue that largely met analyst expectations. For the first quarter, AMD expects revenue to be approximately $5.4 billion, plus or minus $300 million.
The “Magnificent Seven” tech mega-caps — apart from Tesla (TSLA) — are expected to do much of the heavy lifting for the S&P 500 this earnings season after powering the recent stock rally. Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), and Meta (META) will post results on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, General Motors (GM) handily beat expectations for sales and revenue in a fourth quarter marked by strikes. GM shares closed up nearly 8%.
Meanwhile, investors are counting down to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision at the end of its two-day meeting on Wednesday. The question of whether cuts will happen in March or May is currently the subject of intense debate on Wall Street as markets hang near records.
Read more: What the Fed rate-hike pause means for bank accounts, CDs, loans, and credit cards
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