The S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (SPX) continued to string along record highs this week, despite the U.S.-Iran stalemate and a Wall Street Journal report that sparked concerns over OpenAI's financial sustainability. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) marked a fifth-straight loss on Wednesdayfollowing the Federal Reserve's move to keep interest rates unchanged, but recovered with a 790-point gain to finish the month on Thursday.
Investors pushed aside fears of a prolonged naval blockade of Iran later in the week as upbeat earnings from Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Caterpillar (CAT), and Apple (AAPL) injected optimism into the market. All three major benchmarks ended April with impressive wins, with the SPX and IXIC securing their best monthly performance since 2020 while also pacing for their sixth-straight weekly gains.
Busy Week for Tech
The tech sector was in in the spotlight this week due to the release of several "Magnificent Seven" earnings reports. Amazon.com (AMZN) shares fell after touching a fresh record high, while capex obstacles got in the way of Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT). Call traders eyed SoFi Technologies (SOFI) ahead of quarterly results, and Spotify Technology (SPOT) issued a dismal outlook.
Meanwhile, Seagate Technology (STX) shared strong profit guidance. Rounding out the week, SanDisk (SNDK) and Reddit (RDDT) shares enjoyed post-earnings surges. Beyond earnings, Qualcomm (QCOM) announced a new partnership with OpenAI, and options bulls doubled down on Nvidia (NVDA). Lastly, Adobe (ADBE) drew an analyst downgrade to "neutral."
More Notable Earnings Reports
Plenty of other notable names reported results this week as well. Blue chips Verizon Communications (VZ) and Coca-Cola (KO enjoyed beat-and-raises with Starbucks (SBUX), while General Motors (GM) stock tumbled despite its rosy outlook. Enphase Energy (ENPH) stock slipped after a revenue miss, while CAT secured a record high and drove the Dow higher after a top- and bottom-line win.
Early May to Bring Jobs Data
The first full week of May will bring another wave of earnings, as well as the ADP jobs report and U.S. employment data. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Cloudflare (NET), Datadog (DDOG), DraftKings (DKNG), DoorDash (DASH), McDonald's (MCD), Pinterest (PINS), Pfizer (PFE), and Super Micro Computer (SMCI) will be among the names announcing results. Prepare for what's ahead by checking this SPX trendline related to momentum, and learn why this old market adage has lost historical context.
