Tech, Earnings Fight For Wall Street's Attention

This week saw the ceasefire deadline come and go with relatively little fanfare. The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) nabbed multiple record highs while the Dow was rather subdued. Middle East uncertainty remains a steady overhang, with investors latching on to every development. Earnings season continued at a rapid pace as well, with numerous Big Tech and blue-chip companies on the docket. Despite the uneven price action, the SPX and Nasdaq are poised to end Friday with weekly wins.

Tech in Control Once More

After last week’s across-the-board surge, what would the tech sector do for an encore? Growth stocks AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) and USA Rare Earth (USAR) traded in opposite directions. QuantumScape (QS) turned heads after its quarterly report, while Texas Instruments (TXN) scored a post-earnings bull gap of its own that propped up the red-hot semiconductor sector. IBM (IBM) wasn’t as lucky.

The SaaSpocalypse created an intriguing ‘buy the dip’ opportunity for subscribers, while Intel's late-week earnings report helped chip stocks finish a great week strong.

Earnings Winners, Losers

Blue chips UnitedHealth Group (UNH) and Boeing (BA) took turns propping up the Dow mid-week, while Procter & Gamble (PG) took up the mantle on Friday. American Air Lines (AAL) showed some post-earnings resiliency amid jet fuel headwinds, while options traders loaded up on Tesla (TSLA) before its report.

Looking Ahead

The Fed takes a centerstage – no pun intended -- for the final week of April, while another deluge of big name earnings are slated to enter the ring. In the meantime, we had some fun with the Nasdaq's historic streak over at our Substack, while Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White studied the sharp relative strength shift.