Nasdaq falls more than Alphabet, Microsoft gains

With earnings season in full swing, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC) led losses on Tuesday afternoon as investors awaited Big Tech's earnings release from Microsoft.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) traded sideways after Monday's winning session saw the benchmark rise to another all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) reversed its earlier decline and rose about 0.1%.

The Magnificent Seven tech giants, excluding Tesla (TSLA), are expected to do much of the heavy lifting for the S&P 500 this earnings season after driving recent stock gains. Investors will be scrutinizing Microsoft's (MSFT) report for signs of further returns from its massive investment in AI. Results for Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) are also expected to be released after the bell on Tuesday, while results for Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta (META) are expected to be included in Thursday's report.

General Motors (GM) posted a flurry of financial results Tuesday, reporting easily better-than-expected sales and earnings for the strike-hit fourth quarter. GM stock rose about 7% in intraday trading.

Meanwhile, investors are counting down to the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates at the end of its two-day meeting on Wednesday. The question of whether the cuts will happen in March or May is currently the subject of intense debate on Wall Street as markets approach records.

read more: Impact of the Fed's interest rate hike suspension on bank accounts, CDs, loans, and credit cards

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Tuesday, January 30, 2024, 12:31 PM EST

Nasdaq falls on big tech gains

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC) saw losses accelerate on Tuesday as investors awaited major earnings reports from Alphabet (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT).

The Nasdaq fell more than 0.7%, but the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rebounded, with the benchmark index down about 0.1% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 1%.
Tuesday, January 30, 2024, 11:08 a.m. ET

JetBlue and Spirit seek swift appeal to block merger

JetBlue Airways (JBLU) and Spirit Airlines (SAVE) are filing an immediate appeal of a court ruling blocking their $3.8 billion merger.

Spirit's stock rose nearly 4% in early trading, while JetBlue's stock fell 6%.

“This appeal is a formality of what investors were already expecting,” Dan McKenzie, an analyst at Seaport Research Partners, told Yahoo Finance Live on Tuesday following the news. Told.

“I think the airlines have a really good case,” he said, noting that JetBlue and Spirit are not profitable airlines. “The best-performing airlines are the most profitable airlines. … It's very difficult to offer a competitive product when you're losing money.”

Looking ahead, McKenzie said JetBlue will likely rely on its strong presence in the New York City and Florida markets, but the airline will ultimately survive.

“JetBlue's losses are small enough that they can reverse it,” he said. Still, the company “has had to reinvent itself, and that has proven to be a very laborious process in the short term.”
Tuesday, January 30, 2024, 10:13 a.m. ET

Consumer confidence reaches highest level since December 2021

It's been a busy week for the stock market, but early indicators on the economy continue to show signs of resilience.

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index was 114.8 in January, up from 108 the previous month and in line with economists' expectations. The index recorded its highest value since December 2021.

In other aspects of economic data, the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS Report) released Tuesday showed that the U.S. labor market ended December with 9.03 million job openings, up from 8.93 jobs last month. This exceeded Wall Street's forecast of 8.8 million people. .

The printout marks a reversal from the November report, which had fewer vacancies and showed signs of a “better balance” between supply and demand, which Fed Chairman Jerome Powell frequently referred to.
Tuesday, January 30, 2024, 9:38 a.m. ET

Stocks take a breather

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Tuesday ahead of a slew of earnings reports from Big Tech companies.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) traded flat after hitting another all-time high on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC) both fell by about 0.1%.