US stock market today: It is expected to be an event-heavy day for the US stock markets as four of the Magnificent 7 stocks are slated to post their March quarter results on Wednesday, 29 April. Additionally, investor focus will also be on the US Federal Reserve’s policy outcome later in the day.
Among the mega-caps slated to report January-March quarter results are Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms. Overall, 269 companies will post their quarterly earnings.
Together, these have been central to the recent rally, and their earnings could determine whether momentum continues, said Vested Finance. Moreover, investors will gauge the high AI spending and whether it has driven enough growth in cloud computing and advertising to justify the cost.
The results announcement will be released after the closes. These four tech companies together account for over $1,100 trillion in market capitalisation. Vested Finance added that with megacap earnings and the Fed decision lined up, stock-specific moves are intensifying beneath a relatively stable index.
What to expect from Megacap’s earnings?
A Reuters report says four major tech companies are set to invest roughly $600 billion in AI this year—an unprecedented spending surge that has strained cash flows and raised concerns on Wall Street, even though their stock prices have largely remained supported by expectations of long-term gains.
Growth across their cloud divisions is projected to tick up slightly in the January–March quarter. Amazon Web Services is expected to grow 25%, Microsoft Azure around 40%, and Google Cloud about 50.1%, compared with 23.6%, 39%, and 47.8% in the previous quarter, according to Visible Alpha and LSEG data quoted by Reuters.
Revenue growth overall remains strong. Alphabet’s sales are forecast to climb 18.7% to $107.06 billion, Amazon’s to rise 13.9% to $177.30 billion, and Microsoft’s to increase 16.2% to $81.39 billion. Meta is expected to deliver the strongest growth, with revenue jumping 31% to $55.45 billion—its fastest pace in over four years—driven by improved ad targeting from AI investments and its solid position in the digital advertising market, the news agency added.
US stock markets today
Ahead of earnings, the share price trend was mixed. Amazon and Alphabet Inc shares added 1% and 0.5%, respectively. On the flip side, Meta and Microsoft stocks were down up to 1%.
‘s main indexes opened lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.56%, the S&P 500 lost 0.18%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.17%.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold the federal funds rate steady at 3.50%-3.75% when its meeting concludes today. With no fresh economic projections or dot plot to guide markets, attention will shift to Chair Jerome Powell’s tone and the statement’s language, according to experts.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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