From MorningStar’s “Stock Futures Waver With Tech Earnings in Focus” posted early Wednesday:
Investors were gearing up for one of the busiest days of the quarterly earnings season, with AT&T, Blackstone and Boeing set to report ahead of the opening bell. Earnings from tech giants Apple, Facebook and Tesla are due just after the market closes. Investors are eager to see how those companies have fared during a quarter marked by continued lockdowns and stay-at-home orders.
“The bar for tech stocks to beat is quite high because we were still in lockdown and yet they do seem to be doing well relative to those higher expectations,” said Hani Redha, a portfolio manager at PineBridge Investments.
Shares of Microsoft gained 3.1% ahead of the opening bell after the company reported record quarterly sales Tuesday. Its shares closed at a new high Tuesday…
Earnings have pleased the market so far and investors continue to bet on economic support from the Federal Reserve and a possible stimulus plan from the Biden administration. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 hit a new intraday high before slipping in the final minutes of trading.
“The Fed and the new Biden stimulus plans — it’s all a very positive backdrop for the equity market,” said Brian Walsh, Jr., a portfolio manager at Walsh & Nicholson Financial Group. “They are saying we aren’t going to let the markets fail right now and, with bond yields as low as they are, there is nowhere else to be.”
My take: Apple reports its Q1 earnings after the bell today. Shares have closed at record highs four trading days in a row.
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