Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 9, 2021.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Friday as it moved closer to notching its best month since January.
The blue-chip index traded 124 points, or 0.4%, higher, while the S&P 500 gained 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite flickered around its flatline as a crop of technology earnings weighed on the index.
With just Friday’s session left in the trading month, the Dow is on pace to finish April 2.1% higher. That would be its best monthly showing since January, when the average ended 2.8% up. The S&P 500 is poised for a 0.9% monthly gain, while the Nasdaq is on track to end the month down 0.7%.
On a weekly basis, the Nasdaq is slated for the largest gain, at 0.5%, in what has been considered Big Tech’s marquee earnings week. The Dow and S&P 500 are poised to finish the week 0.4% and 0.3% higher, respectively.
Just over half of S&P 500 companies have reported earnings thus far. Of those companies, 80% have beaten expectations, according to data from FactSet. That beat rate is roughly in line with a three-year average, according to data from The Earnings Scout.
“The market should follow earnings,” said Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management. “That is the mother’s milk of the market.”
Amazon shares were down more than 4%. The online retailer said its cloud business decelerated when reporting first-quarter results, though it did beat Wall Street’s expectations for revenue in the quarter.
Snap tumbled nearly 19% following a revenue miss. Pinterest shares fell more than 18% after issuing disappointing second-quarter revenue growth expectations. First Solar dropped more than 14% after missing Wall Street expectations for the first quarter, putting the stock on pace for its worst day since 2021.
To be sure, not every tech stock was down following their respective releases. Intel shares climbed more than 5% after the semiconductor firm beat estimates on the top and bottom lines.
Data released Friday morning showed personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.3% in March, which was in line with economist expectations. The index is a key gauge of inflation for the Federal Reserve, which has a policy meeting scheduled for next week.
“Today is reflective of sort of a three-legged stool,” said Greg Bassuk, CEO of AXS Investments. “Earnings, economic data and the Fed continue to be the investor narrative.”
Outside of earnings, shares of troubled First Republic Bank fell more than 25% and were halted for volatility after CNBC’s David Faber reported that the most likely outcome for the regional bank is the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to taking receivership. The stock has lost more than 95% of its value since the start of the year.