Stocks End Higher On Strong Earnings

Market Moves You Need to See Stocks End Higher On Strong Earnings [Kevin Matras - EVP - Photo] Profit from the Pros By Kevin Matras Executive Vice President Stocks End Higher On Strong Earnings [Stocks End Higher On Strong Earnings]Image: Bigstock Stocks closed solidly higher yesterday with the Nasdaq leading the way with 0.93%, followed by the S&P with 0.73%, and the Dow with 0.62%. That puts the big three indexes up for the week. The day got started with earnings from General Electric (positive EPS surprise of 46.4%), Coca-Cola (positive EPS surprise of 7.25%), and Verizon (positive EPS surprise of 4.27%). They were all up on the day gaining 6.52%, 3.09%, and 9.27% respectively. After the close the earnings continued with Alphabet reporting a positive EPS surprise of 6.90%, and a positive sales surprise of 1.45%. That's a 46.2% quarterly growth rate vs. this time last year, and an 11.8% sales growth. They were up 1.61% in the regular session before earnings, but were down roughly -5.00% in after-hours trade after missing estimates on their cloud business. Microsoft reported as well and posted a 12.8% positive EPS surprise, and a 3.67% positive sales surprise. That amounted to a 27.2% EPS growth rate vs. the same quarter last year, and a 12.7% sales growth rate. They were up 0.37% in the regular session before earnings, but were up roughly 4% in after-hours trade. They reported strong demand for their cloud business, beating estimates. Snap is not a marquee name like Alphabet or Microsoft, but it's worth noting that they too posted a positive EPS surprise to the tune of 150%, and a positive sales surprise of 7.72%. Their 2 cents per share was the first positive earnings in 6 quarters. You have to go all the way back to Q4'21 when they posted positive earnings of 1 cent per share. They were up 2.32% in the regular session before earnings. But they traded all over the place in after-hours, climbing as much as 24.3%, and falling as much as -8.54%. Although, a little more than an hour after reporting they were essentially flat. So we'll see how they trade in today's regular session. In other news, yesterday's PMI Composite report came in at 51.0 with the Manufacturing Index at 50.0 vs. the consensus for 49.5, and the Services Index at 50.9 vs. views for 49.4. But the Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index slipped to 3 vs. last month's 5. Today we'll get MBA Mortgage Applications, New Home Sales, the Survey of Business Uncertainty report, and the State Street Investor Confidence Index. We'll also hear from Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, when he makes introductory remarks at the 2023 Moynihan Lecture in Social Science and Public Policy, in Washington, D.C. No new ground is expected to be broken in today's speech. Nonetheless, with the FOMC meeting just a week away, you can be sure people will be listening to every word he has to say. On the earnings front, we'll get another 280 companies set to report today, with Boeing, Automatic Data Processing, and Thermo Fisher going before the open. After the close we’ll hear from Meta, IBM, and ServiceNow. But the main event this week will be Friday's Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index. That's the Fed's preferred inflation gauge. So all eyes will be on that. That will be the last piece of inflation data the Fed gets before their FOMC announcement on Wednesday, November 1. In the meantime, earnings season is off to a great start. Granted, it's been largely ignored so far. But stocks typically go up during earnings season. So if the beats keep coming, that should help underpin the market as it usually does. See you tomorrow, [Kevin Matras - Signature] Kevin Matras Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research [Warning shot for retirement accounts...]( Biden's not holding back...He's warned you that he plans to raise: Income taxes, death taxes, capital gains taxes & corporate taxes. Some or all of which WILL affect you or your family in one way or another... [CLICK HERE to request a FREE Copy of the Guide To IRS Loopholes For Your IRA/401(k)]( Most Popular Articles from Zacks.com [Meta & Amazon Earnings Loom: A Closer Look]( Both companies have enjoyed positive top and bottom line estimate revisions, with each also expected to post sizable growth. [Read More »]( [Will Nasdaq Composite Maintain Its Momentum in Q4 2023?]( The growing demand for hi-tech has acted as a catalyst for the sector in an otherwise tough environment. [Read More »]( [This Leading Retailer Has Quietly Entered A Bullish Phase]( Williams-Sonoma has exceeded the earnings mark in each of the last four quarters. 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