Day Traders Diary

4/24/23

The major averages closed mixed as the earnings keep rolling in including the big technology companies along with fresh economic data later in the week. The tech-heavy index slid 35 points or 0.29% to close at 12,037. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 66 points or 0.2% while the S&P 500 rose 3 points.

Wall Street is looking ahead to mega-cap tech earnings results this week in what will mark the halfway point of earnings season. Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta are among the high-interest names scheduled to announce their results for the first quarter.

But it may be difficult for tech stocks to rally on the back of financial reports after already advancing significantly this year, said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at the Independent Advisor Alliance. Communication services and information technology stocks within the S&P 500 have posted the biggest year-to-date gains of the index's 11 total sectors, adding more than 19% and 18%, respectively.

Roughly 76% of S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly results through Monday morning beat analysts' earnings estimates, according to FactSet data. However, first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are estimated to decline an overall 5.2%, per Refinitiv.

Investors are also keeping a close eye on new economic data that will provide insight into whether inflation is cooling and if the Federal Reserve will announce another rate hike at its next meeting in early May. GDP numbers for the first quarter and April's consumer sentiment data are both among data points slated for release later in the week.