S&P 500 rises on tech strength ahead of Microsoft, Alphabet Results

Investing.com -- The S&P 500 advanced Tuesday as investors piled into tech stocks ahead of quarterly results from Microsoft and Alphabet and the Federal Reverse decision due Wednesday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%, or 59 points, Nasdaq was up 0.8%.

Big tech in spotlight as Microsoft, Alphabet set to report; Chip stocks soar

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) climbed more than 1% into their quarterly results due after the market closes.

Microsoft’s report is likely to garner the bulk of investor attention, Wedbush says, as there “is no better barometer of the overall cloud and enterprise spending environment than Redmond [Microsoft].”

"The company’s cloud segment Azure is the key number to focus on," Wedbush adds, with the Street expecting 26% growth.

For Google, meanwhile, investor focus will likely be looking out for signs of improvement in the advertising market, updates on AI investments, and the performance of the tech giant's cloud business.

Chip stocks also pushed the broader tech sector following a rally in NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI) after the major automotive chip supplier reported upbeat guidance and quarterly results that topped Wall Street estimates.

The stronger-than-expected results were driven by automotive growth that looks set to continue, Oppenheimer says, as NXP's partnership with Chinese EV manufacturer Nio Inc (NYSE:NIO) for 4D imaging radar and China's $72B EV tax credit subsidy provides a tailwind.

Verizon delivers mixed quarterly results, General Motors drives in earnings beat, GE shines

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) was marginally higher as quarterly revenue that missed Wall Street estimates was offset by an unexpected rise in its wireless subscriber base following plans to ramp up its enterprise customer base.

General Motors (NYSE:GM), meanwhile, fell more than 3% despite reporting quarterly results that topped analyst estimates as CEO Mary Barra said the automaker plans on making further cost-cutting measures that investors fear will stifle new products.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) lifted its full-year guidance after delivering better-than-expected quarterly results, sending its share price more than 5% higher to a 52-week high.

Alaska Air Lines guidance sours sentiment on airlines

Alaska Air Lines (NYSE:ALK) also reported quarterly results that topped analyst estimates, but the airline’s guidance for slower revenue growth spooked investors, and soured sentiment on the other airline stocks including Southwest Airlines Company (NYSE:LUV), American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL), and Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE).

Alaska’s guided annual revenue growth for 2023 to increase 8% to 10%, missing Wall Street estimates for growth of 11%.