Market sentiment on Friday was weighed down by sharp declines in tech and communications services stocks, but strong financial results from blue-chip credit card companies held firm. Dow Jones Industrial Average on the water. And volatility could continue next week thanks to a flurry of Big Tech earnings and a major inflation update.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to $37,986, thanks to post-earnings gains. american express (AXP).
AXP was definitely the best dow jones stocks Shares soared 6.2% today after the credit card company reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings of $3.33 per share and inline revenue of $15.8 billion. AXP also said consumer spending increased 8% year-over-year, with spending among Millennial and Gen Z cardholders increasing 15%.
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Looking ahead, argus research Analyst Stephen Biggar (buy) said he sees continued healthy spending by AXP's generally affluent cardholders, who have not been significantly affected. inflationMake sure your marketing efforts are leading to good cardholder growth. ”
Netflix slumps after first quarter results
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was able to score its third victory this week. S&P500 (-0.9% on 4,967 cases) Nasdaq Composite (-2.1%, 15,282) extended their daily losing streak to six.
The pressure on the index had a negative reaction to the company's earnings. Netflix (NFLX, -9.1%). The streaming giant reported increased sales and profits in its first quarter results, and announced that the number of subscribers grew by 16% year-on-year, but it also announced that it will stop reporting growth in paid members in fiscal 2025.
“The market hasn't taken well to the news that Netflix will stop reporting quarterly membership numbers,” said Sophie Rand-Yates, the company's chief equity analyst. hargreaves lansdowne. The company's plan has always been to grow its customer base, but it is now at a tipping point and “will be nervous about what this means for high-level Netflix labels.” growth stocks” she added.
However, the weaknesses were not limited to Netflix. Ahead of next week's performance, earnings calendarSeveral 7 great stocks – include alphabet (GOOGL, -1.2%) and meta platform (META, -4.1%) – Regression.
Super microcomputer spiral 20%
In other places, super microcomputer (SMCI) plunged 23% to close at its lowest level since early February. Although no specific news caused the sell-off, media coverage That suggests investors may be upset that the company didn't announce its earnings in advance, as it has in seven of the past eight quarters. Rather, the AI server, software and infrastructure company announced that it will release its full third quarter financial results after the close of trading on Tuesday, April 30th.
Friday's slump signals a change in the pace of the world Recent additions to the S&P 500. Indeed, SMCI is one of the hottest stocks in 2024, nearly doubling in value year-to-date. So some of today's selling may be due to investors taking red-hot profits. tech stocks.
Inflation data released after busy earnings week
Several major events could add to stock market volatility next week. In addition to numerous earnings reports for Big Tech companies, economic calendar We feature the Personal Consumption and Expenditures (PCE) Price Index for March. This data measures consumer spending and is the Fed's preferred indicator of inflation.
larry adamRaymond James, chief investment officer at Raymond James, said investors don't need to worry too much about the whiplash. “While market fluctuations may be concerning, be careful not to panic; pullbacks and temporary spikes in volatility are common,” Adam cautioned us. He added that the S&P 500 is still up 20% from its October low. “This kind of uninterrupted rally is unusual because it's important to recognize that stock markets don't rise in a straight line,” he said.
