Nasdaq Showing Significant Rebound On Upbeat Earnings From Microsoft, Alphabet

While strength in the tech sector has contributed to a significant rebound by the Nasdaq during trading on Wednesday, the Dow and the S&P 500 have spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

Currently, the Nasdaq is up 136.29 points or 1.2 percent at 11,935.45 after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in almost a month.

The S&P 500 is also up 10.93 points or 0.3 percent at 4,082.56, while the Dow is down 19.39 points or 0.1 percent at 33,511.44.

The surge by the Nasdaq partly reflects a positive reaction to earnings news from Microsoft (MSFT), with the software giant soaring by 7.8 percent.

The jump by Microsoft comes after the company reported fiscal third quarter results that beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines and provided upbeat revenue guidance for the current quarter.

Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) has also moved to the upside after reporting better than expected first quarter results and announcing a $70 billion stock buyback.

Outside the tech sector, shares of Boeing (BA) have moved notably higher after the aerospace giant reported a wider than expected first quarter loss but announced plans to boost production of its 737 Max planes.

On the other hand, shares of First Republic (FRC) are extending the steep drop seen in the previous session, which came after the regional bank reported a loss of more than $100 billion in deposits in the first quarter, renewing concerns about turmoil in the banking sector.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged by much more than expected in March amid a substantial rebound in orders for transportation equipment.

The report said durable goods orders spiked by 3.2 percent in March after tumbling by a revised 1.2 percent in February.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to climb by 0.8 percent compared to the 1.0 percent slump that had been reported for the previous month.

Excluding the jump in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders rose by 0.3 percent in March after falling by 0.3 percent in February. Ex-transportation orders were expected to dip by 0.2 percent.

Sector News

Software stocks have moved sharply higher on the heels of the upbeat earnings news from Microsoft, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index spiking by 5.1 percent after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in a month.

Considerable strength is also visible among internet stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain being posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index is bouncing off a two-month closing low.

Meanwhile, transportation stocks are extending the sell-off seen in the previous session, dragging the Dow Jones Transportation Average down by 2.6 percent.

Pharmaceutical stocks have also shown a significant move to the downside, resulting in a 2.0 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index. With the drop, the index is pulling back off a record closing high.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.7 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi edged down by 0.2 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index closed just below the unchanged line.

The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has slumped by 1.0 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.7 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have fluctuated over the course of the session. Currently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.1 basis points at 3.417 percent.

Source: Read Full Article