TRV - Nasdaq Futures Plunge As Meta Warns Of Q4 Softness: GDP Data Amazon Earnings On Investors' Radar Amid Market Mayhem | Benzinga
A somber mood looms over Wall Street, stirred by lackluster earnings reports and relentless bond yield increases. Stock futures dipped early Thursday, with Meta Platforms, Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:META) impressive results failing to satisfy investors.
Market-watchers are also focused on a series of upcoming earnings reports, including Amazon, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), set to release its quarterly results after the market close.
The spotlight, however, is on the third-quarter GDP report, expected to reveal the fastest growth since late 2021. A strong figure could propel bond yields upward and dampen traders’ risk appetite. Furthermore, an important interest rate decision from Europe is on traders’ radar ahead of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming rate decision.
Cues From Previous Session
In Wednesday’s trading, major averages took a hit. Factors like Alphabet, Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) underwhelming Cloud revenue, surging bond yields, rising oil prices, and robust new home sales for September unnerved traders.
Dow Industrials started the day strong, thanks to Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) shares. However, the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 opened weaker and stayed that way, ending notably lower.
By the afternoon, the Dow joined the broader market’s downward slide. The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 closed at a five-month low, and small-cap stocks, as represented by the Russell 2000 Index, are now down 5.56% for the year.
Most S&P sector stocks faced declines, primarily in communication services, led by Alphabet. Consumer discretionary and real estate sectors also saw significant selling pressure. Conversely, defensive sectors like consumer staples and utilities resisted the market’s downturn.
Index Performance (+/-) Value
Nasdaq Composite -2.43 12,821.22
S&P 500 Index -1.43% 4,186.77
S&P 500 Index -0.32% 33,035.93
Russell 2000 -1.67% 1,651.43
Analyst Color:
Despite the negative start to the mega-cap tech earnings, an analyst is optimistic about the near term for the market. “This quarter, there's a high bar for mega-cap tech,” said Gina Bolvin. president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group. “This quarter it’s all about expectations,” she added.
Bolvin is, however, optimistic of a fourth-quarter and year-end rally. She premised her optimism on the strong seasonality when 80% of the time the performance is positive. Shrugging off the volatility seen so far in October, the analyst said, “October is usually volatile with the market often recovering mid-month and so usually October is ...