Wall Street week ahead, mega tech earnings to drive stock markets

First quarter results from mega-cap names such as Microsoft Corp and Google parent Alphabet are expected on 25 April, followed by Apple on 4 May.

Amazon is expected to release its first quarter results on 27 April. Amazon stock rallied on Friday to close up 3.03%, its highest in over 2 months, following an upbeat report from a research firm about its North America business.

On Friday, three major US stock indices finished higher. The S&P 500 gained 3.73 points, or 0.09%, at 4,133.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 22.34 points, or 0.07%, at 33,808.96. The Nasdaq Composite surged 12.90 points, or 0.11%, at 12,072.46.

Five mega-cap tech stocks — Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Nvidia Corp., Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. —  have been responsible for two-thirds of the S&P 500’s advance this year.

Last week, economic data has largely pointed to a slowing US economy.

In the face of recession worries, investors expect the US Federal Reserve to pause tightening monetary policy. The Fed will hold its next monetary policy meet in May.

The Fed hiked interest rates by a quarter percentage point last month, bringing the policy benchmark to a target range of 4.75% to 5%. The central bank had projected borrowing costs will stay around current levels until year end.

The yield on 10-year treasury notes on Friday rose 2.3 basis points (bps) to 3.568%. The yield on 2-year treasury gained 0.7 bps at 4.177%.

Brent crude for June delivery settled 56 cents up at $81.66 a barrel on Friday. The US crude oil benchmark for June delivery added 50 cents to $77.87 a barrel.

On Friday, gold for June delivery slipped $28.60 at $1,990.50 an ounce. Silver for May delivery fell 31 cents at 25.06 an ounce.

The US dollar declined to 134.21 Japanese yen from 134.34 and rose to 1.0977 euro from 1.0965.