Dow Jones Futures: Microsoft, Google, Meta Earnings Offer Big Test for AI, Market Rally
Dow Jones futures open Sunday night, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures, with Microsoft (MSFT), Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) and Meta platforms ( META ) delivers a huge earnings week, with the Federal Reserve set to raise interest rates again.
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The stock rally saw big weekly gains for the Dow Jones, which is on its longest winning streak in almost six years. The S&P 500 also made solid progress. But the Nasdaq turned lower after a big sell-off on Thursday led by Tesla (TSLA). Growth stocks suffered losses, often heavy, but generally they still look healthy.
Bank shares, meanwhile, are roaring back. Industrial, travel and some drug stocks showed strong or resistant action.
The market may need a breather and there aren’t many setups at the moment. So it is not a good time to add exposure.
Microsoft, Google and Meta earnings tower over the market rally. Not only do these three tech titans boast nearly $5 trillion in combined market capitalization, but their results, guidance, spending plans and commentary will be important to cloud computing, artificial intelligence, digital advertising and more.
It will have a big impact on the likes of Amazon.com (AMZN), which reports on May 3, along with Nvidia (NVDA) and other vendors as well as cloud software games.
Meanwhile, ServiceNow (NOW), General Electric (GE), Visa (V), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), Boeing (BA), General Motors (GM) are just some of the other important companies on tap.
Tesla, Nvidia and Meta shares are on the IBD Leaderboard, with CMG shares on the Leaderboard watchlist. Microsoft stock is on the IBD Long-Term Leader list. Tesla and NOW stock are at the IBD 50. TSLA stock is at the IBD Big Cap 20.
The video embedded in the article discussed the weekly market action and analyzed Dow giants Microsoft, Boeing and Visa stocks.
Cool meeting
The Fed meets for two days this week with a policy announcement on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET. After a break in June, the Fed is overwhelmingly expected to raise interest rates by a quarter of a point. But the real question is the rate hike outlook for the rest of the year. Fed policymakers in June forecast two more rate hikes this year, but tame inflation reports have bolstered investor expectations that there is only a modest chance of another move after Wednesday.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments at 2:30 PM ET are likely to provide clues about the interest rate outlook.
Dow Jones Futures today
Dow Jones futures open at 6 PM ET on Sunday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures.
Keep in mind that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere does not necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular session.
Join IBD experts as they analyze actionable stocks in the stock market rally on IBD Live
Stock market rally
The stock market rally started the week with broad strength, but then diverged.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.1% in last week’s trading, finally moving above its 2023 highs. The Dow is riding a 10-day winning streak, its longest since August 2017. The S&P 500 rose 0.8%, but pared gains. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.6%, thanks to Thursday’s 2.05% drop. The small-cap Russell 2000 climbed 1.5%, also approaching 2023 highs.
The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) climbed 1.35%, nearly double the S&P 500’s gain and just shy of 2023 highs,
The First Trust Nasdaq 100 Equal Weighted Index ETF (QQEW) rose 0.9%, mirroring the Nasdaq 100’s 0.9% slide.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose 2 basis points to 3.84%, but with some big daily moves.
U.S. crude oil futures rose 2.3% to $77.07 a barrel, the fourth straight weekly gain.
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF ( FFTY ) fell 0.35% last week, while the Innovator IBD Breakout Opportunities ETF ( BOUT ) climbed 0.7%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF ( IGV ) rose 0.1%, paring weekly gains. Microsoft shares and ServiceNow are big IGV holdings. VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF ( SMH ) fell 2% after last week’s peak of 5.4%.
The SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) rose 0.2% last week. The Global X US Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE) rose 0.4%, right at all times. The US Global Jets ETF (JETS) rose 1.9%. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF ( XHB ) fell 1.5%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF (XLE) rose 3.5% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) rose 3.45% to its best levels since early January. The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLI ) climbed 0.9%, hitting a new high.
The Financial Select SPDR ETF ( XLF ) rose nearly 3% and the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF ( KRE ) rose 7.5%.
Reflecting more speculative story stocks, the ARK Innovation ETF ( ARKK ) fell 1.3% last week and the ARK Genomics ETF ( ARKG ) climbed. Tesla stock is No. 1 across Ark Invest’s ETFs. TSLA stock fell 7.6% in a big outside, downside week in higher volume, but remains comfortably above the 10-week mark.
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Microsoft, Google, Meta revenue
Microsoft earnings are due Tuesday night, with Google earnings on Wednesday night and Meta earnings on Thursday night.
Microsoft and Google will provide insight into cloud computing. Google and Meta will offer clues about online advertising and social media, with Snapchat parenting Snap (SNAP) also in print next week.
All three will add color to artificial intelligence. Microsoft will be particularly important because it is seen as an AI leader and has just announced prices for various enterprise AI capabilities. How quickly will “AI” be a real growth driver for Microsoft? If Mr. Softy doesn’t see meaningful earnings for a while, that could chill “AI stocks” broadly, especially the more speculative names.
Cloud-related comments from these three titans will be key for Amazon, which relies on Amazon Web Services for the bulk of its profits. Together with the ServiceNow revenues, they could swing leading software games such as Data dog (DDOG), Dynatrace (DT), Cloudflare (NET) and MongoDB (MDB).
Meanwhile, megacap guidance, especially on spending, will be key for vendors such as Nvidia, Broadcom (AVGO), Arista Networks (ANET) and more.
Market rally analysis
The equity rally still looks strong, with the major indexes right at 52-week highs with robust breadth and diverse leadership. The Nasdaq’s sell-off on Thursday was sharp, but it ended the week finding support at the 10-day line.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 are on the verge of being extended, so a tidy break or pullback would be healthy.
A market break would create new buying opportunities. Many leading stocks are expanding. A number of others look OK after heavy losses on Thursday, but may need a few days or weeks to rebound.
Time the market with IBD’s ETF market strategy
What to do now
This is not a good time to add exposure. The Nasdaq took a hit, but is also not far from being extended again. Not many shares are in position. And earnings this week, along with the Fed meeting, could affect individual stocks, sectors and market gains.
Investors should look at their portfolio and note which holdings have earnings at a loss – and which big results from related companies are due. Consider whether to hold various stocks through the earnings season, or take full or partial profits.
The share rise is still strong. Investors should watch how stocks react to earnings and other news this week. It doesn’t take much before a number of names look interesting again.
Nasdaq 100 Special Rebalance
Before Monday’s market open, a special rebalancing of the Nasdaq 100 will take place, reducing the dominance of the “Magnificent Seven” of Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Google, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Tesla stock. The MSFT share and Nvidia will see the biggest weight reductions in the index.
The particular rebalance probably won’t have a big impact on these titans. The news has basically been out for two weeks.
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