Nasdaq closes lower Monday as investors prepare for Big Tech earnings: Live updates

The Nasdaq Composite slipped on Monday as investors awaited the release of a slew of corporate earnings reports from big technology companies and fresh economic data.

The tech-heavy index slid 0.29% to close at 12,037.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 66.44 points, or 0.2% to finish at 33,875.40 points. The S&P 500 closed 0.09% higher at 4,137.04.

Wall Street is looking ahead to mega-cap tech earnings results this week in what will mark the halfway point of earnings season. Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta are among the high-interest names scheduled to announce their results for the first quarter.

“Everyone’s just waiting for tech earnings,” said Chris Harvey, head of equity strategy at Wells Fargo Securities. “This is a very, very busy week for earnings, so we’re just treading water.”

But it may be difficult for tech stocks to rally on the back of financial reports after already advancing significantly this year, said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at the Independent Advisors Alliance. Communication services and information technology stocks within the S&P 500 have posted the biggest year-to-date gains of the index’s 11 total sectors, adding more than 19% and 18%, respectively.

“A lot of the good news is already in the price,” Zaccarelli said of tech stocks. “It’s going to take a lot more for tech earnings this week to really move the needle on the stock prices.”

Roughly 76% of S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly results through Monday morning beat analysts’ earnings estimates, according to FactSet data. However, first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are estimated to decline an overall 5.2%, per Refinitiv. 

Investors are also keeping a close eye on new economic data that will provide insight into whether inflation is cooling and if the Federal Reserve will announce another rate hike at its next meeting in early May. GDP numbers for the first quarter and April’s consumer sentiment data are both among data points slated for release later in the week.