Investing.com — Market Overview

The Nasdaq closed at record highs on Tuesday, shrugging off mixed economic data as tech stocks made gains ahead of major earnings announcements.

At 4:00 p.m. ET (2000 GMT):
– The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 154 points (0.4%)
– The S&P 500 index increased by 0.2%
– The NASDAQ Composite surged 0.7%, closing at a record high of 18,717.58.

Tech Rallies Ahead of Alphabet Earnings

Big tech pushed the broader market higher just before Alphabet's quarterly results were due after the market closed.
Wedbush stated, "We think Street estimates for 3Q advertising growth are achievable, but we see limited opportunity for upside relative to estimates this quarter," highlighting concerns about slowing search growth and competition for Youtube.
Five of Wall Street's 'Magnificent Seven' are set to report earnings this week, with Google owner Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) reporting after the market close on Tuesday.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) will report on Wednesday, followed by Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) on Thursday.
The week's earnings are expected to signal broader market trends due to the significance of these tech giants. Investors are eager to see if these favorable results reflect strong returns on AI investments made over the past year.
Citi strategists led by Chris Montagu noted, "Risk flows over the last week, while positive, were rather subdued but kept net positioning for the S&P 500 net long and extended."

Ford Falls After Cutting Full-Year Profitability Forecast

Ford (NYSE:F) shares dropped 8% after the carmaker lowered its full-year profit forecast, citing supplier disruptions and warranty costs amid a global industry price war.
UBS commented, "Ford 3Q24 results showed continued pressure from some of the issues that have affected them for some time, specifically higher warranty costs."

Meanwhile, VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC) shares rose 27% after reporting a profit for the first time in two quarters.
In contrast, DR Horton (NYSE:DHI) shares fell 7% after forecasting 2025 revenue below estimates, and McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) shares remained flat despite a drop in global sales.

Labor Market Demand Cools, but Consumer Confidence Jumps

The JOLTS job openings data for September unexpectedly dropped, but Oxford Economics indicated that the hiring pace increased, lending some upside risk to the October payroll growth forecast.
The quits rate also declined to its lowest level since the pandemic, indicating wage growth is slowing and easing inflationary pressures from the labor market.

Further insights into the labor market will be anticipated with upcoming jobless claims and the ADP payroll report due later this week, ahead of the October jobs report on Friday.
Despite electoral uncertainty, consumer confidence surged to its highest level since 2021.
Inflation data will also be a focal point, including September's US core personal consumption expenditures price index — the Fed’s preferred inflation measure — set for release on Thursday.
This data comes before a Fed meeting where a smaller interest rate cut of 25 basis points is expected.
Also, the U.S. presidential elections are approaching, with a tight race anticipated between Republican nominee Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, though recent polls generally favor Trump.

(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)