Dow Jones futures edged lower early Thursday, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures fell modestly. Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META) beat Q3 views, but shares declined on guidance.
Robinhood Markets (HOOD), Coinbase (COIN), MicroStrategy (MSTR), DoorDash (DASH), GoDaddy (GDDY) and Ryan Specialty Holdings (RYAN) were among the other notable earnings after the close.
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Nasdaq Hits New High Again; Reddit, Alphabet, Eateries In Focus
The stock market rally fell modestly Wednesday, with the Nasdaq reversing from a record high even as Google-parent Alphabet (GOOGL) led big earnings movers.
Nvidia, Meta and DoorDash stock are on IBD Leaderboard. Nvidia stock is on SwingTrader. Microsoft stock is on the IBD Long-Term Leaders list. Nvidia, Meta and Ryan stock are on the IBD 50. Meta stock and Robinhood are on the IBD Big Cap 20.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures declined 0.1% vs. fair value, with Microsoft a Dow component. S&P 500 futures retreated 0.4% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.7%. Microsoft and Meta are major S&P 500 and Nasdaq holdings.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose slightly to 4.28%.
The official China manufacturing index edged up 0.3 point in October to 50.1, above the break-even 50 level for the first time since April. The forecast was for 49.9.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn’t necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
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Stock Market Rally
The stock market rally faded into the close, with the Nasdaq leading the declines after hitting a fresh all-time high intraday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.2% in Wednesday’s stock market trading, again hitting resistance at the 21-day line. The S&P 500 index sank 0.3%. The Nasdaq composite gave up 0.6%. The small-cap Russell 2000 edged down 0.1%, still above its 21-day line.
Reddit (RDDT) skyrocketed 42%, while Garmin (GRMN) gapped up 23%, among the many leading stocks soaring on earnings. But there were plenty of losers, with Eli Lilly (LLY) plunging 13%. Nvidia rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) dived nearly 11%.
U.S. crude oil prices rose 2.1% to $68.61 a barrel.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell one basis point to 4.26%.
ETFs
The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) dipped 0.2%, with Microsoft stock a major IGV holding. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) slumped 2.4%, with AMD leading the retreat. ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) fell 0.4%.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) slid 1.7%. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB), the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) declined 0.2%.
The Financial Select SPDR ETF (XLF) advanced 0.45%.
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Microsoft, Meta Earnings
Microsoft earnings and revenue beat fiscal Q1 views, as its Azure cloud-computing revenue growth came in at 33%, above expectations.
The Dow tech titan guided slightly below views for fiscal Q2. Microsoft said it plans capital spending of $80 billion in the current fiscal 2025, which started in July. That’s up from $49 billion in fiscal 2024. That could weigh on Microsoft earnings, but is good news for AI hardware plays.
Microsoft stock fell solidly in extended trade. Shares edged up 0.1% to 433.53 in Wednesday’s regular session, in Google’s cloud-led earnings beat. MSFT stock has been moving off its 21-day, 50-day and 200-day lines. The traditional consolidation buy point is 468.35, with 441.85 offering an early entry.
But Microsoft has been a laggard for much of 2024.
Meta earnings easily beat while revenue slightly topped. Daily active users came in slightly below views. The Facebook and Instagram parent guided Q4 revenue slightly higher at the midpoint. Meta guided full-year expenses slightly lower but guided up a fraction on capital spending and forecast “significant capital expenditures growth in 2025.”
Meta stock fell modestly in overnight action. Shares dipped 0.25% to 591.80 on Wednesday, just below the top of a short consolidation.
Microsoft and Meta earnings and guidance are key for Nvidia (NVDA) and other AI hardware plays.
Nvidia stock declined slightly in late trade. Shares fell 1.4% to 139.34 on Wednesday, just below a 140.76 buy point, following weak AMD sales guidance.
Arista Networks (ANET), which boasts Microsoft and Meta as major customers, lost a fraction overnight. Shares fell 1.4% on Wednesday, holding the 21-day line.
Robinhood, Crypto Earnings
Crypto-related trading app Robinhood, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and bitcoin investor MicroStrategy all reported weaker-than-expected Q3 results. MicroStrategy, which has borrowed heavily to buy bitcoin, announced plans to raise $42 billion in equity and debt to buy more of the cryptocurrency.
Robinhood stock plunged while Coinbase declined solidly and MicroStrategy fell. COIN stock has been flirting with a buy point.
Other Earnings
Ryan Specialty stock and GoDaddy were little changed. DoorDash edged higher.
Lemonade (LMND) soared on better-than-expected results, while another upstart insurer, Root (ROOT), skyrocketed. Communications software maker Twilio (TWLO) and Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) also jumped overnight.
Early Thursday, SharkNinja (SN), Uber Technologies (UBER) and Roblox (RBLX) are on tap to report earnings.
What To Do Now
So far the stock market rally has handled earnings season just fine, but there’s plenty to come. We’ll see how markets respond Thursday to Microsoft and Meta, with Amazon.com (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL) due Thursday night. Friday’s jobs report follows, along with the Nov. 5 Election Day, the Nov. 7 Fed meeting announcement and much more.
Aside from earnings gaps, there haven’t been many recent buying opportunities, and several of those companies have earnings in the next few days.
So aside from incremental buys or portfolio tweaks, investors don’t need to do a whole lot. But stay engaged and have your watchlists ready.
Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.
Please follow Ed Carson on Threads at @edcarson1971 and X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.
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