Market Turmoil: Tech Stocks Plunge Amid Tesla and Microsoft Earnings

Strategic Insights -

The Dow Jones Industrial Average showed a weak performance on Thursday, with the S&P 500 trading just above session lows at 4 p.m. ET, down 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.8% at the end of the last trading hour. The small-cap Russell 2000 also fell 0.8%. The market was affected by weak quarterly results from AT&T and Tesla, which weighed on the index.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 0.4% at the closing bell on Thursday, with American Express falling after earnings.
  • Intel lost ground with earnings due on April 27, and Microsoft saw a small loss with earnings slated for April 25.
  • Steel Dynamics rose to test its 50-day line after strong earnings, and D.R. Horton also rose after an earnings beat.
  • Software stocks Atlassian, Datadog, and Zscaler fell in the Nasdaq exchange, with the tech index losing 0.8% at the end of the last trading hour.
  • Tesla's 85 cents per share Q1 profit marked a 20% year-over-year decline, while revenue of $23.33 billion missed views for $23.73 billion.
  • Crude oil fell over 2.5% to $77.55 per barrel, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dumped 5 basis points to 3.54%.
  • AT&T's sales of $30.1 billion were a shade below views of $30.2 billion, but earnings topped views of 58 cents per share by 2 cents.
  • Bed Bath & Beyond fell sharply on reports the embattled home goods store is preparing to file for bankruptcy.
  • Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing rose and lowered its outlook as it expects a 16% fall in second quarter sales, citing customers' further inventory adjustment.
  • Dow Jones component Installed Building Products broke out of a cup base at an entry of 121.70, while Boyd Gaming broke out of a cup with handle at 67.60 ahead of earnings on April 25.
  • Existing home sales fell 2.4% in March to a seasonally adjusted 4.44 million, with a median existing home sales price falling 0.9% from a year ago.

Statistics:

  • Tesla's Q1 profit fell 20% year-over-year to 85 cents per share.
  • Revenue of $23.33 billion missed views for $23.73 billion.
  • Crude oil fell over 2.5% to $77.55 per barrel.
  • The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dumped 5 basis points to 3.54%.
  • AT&T's sales of $30.1 billion were a shade below views of $30.2 billion.
  • Earnings topped views of 58 cents per share by 2 cents.
  • Free cash flow of $1 billion was well below expectations of $3.2 billion.
  • Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing expects a 16% fall in second quarter sales.

Sources:

  • The Wall Street Journal
  • Bloomberg News
  • CNBC
  • Dow Jones News
  • Reuters
  • Yahoo Finance
  • Zacks
  • Barron's
  • TheStreet
  • Seeking Alpha