Stocks were mixed on Wednesday as the Nasdaq Composite rose following better-than-expected results from the start of Big Tech earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 200 points, while the S&P 500 fell about 0.4% and Nasdaq Composite rose nearly 0.5%.
Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Microsoft
"As with any significant platform shift, it starts with innovation, and we're excited about the early feedback and demand signals from the AI capabilities we've announced to date," said CFO Amy Hood during an earnings call with investors. "We will continue to invest in our cloud infrastructure, particularly AI-related spend, as we scale to the growing demand driven by customer transformation. And we expect the resulting revenue to grow over time."
However, Microsoft's potential acquisition of video game developer Activision Blizzard
Alphabet
CEO Sundar Pichai told investors on an earnings call that Google currently holds more than 90% of search market share, and he's "comfortable" that Google will continue to improve search and will be competitive in big deals in the wake of Microsoft's Bing AI integration.
Big Tech earnings will continue this week, with Meta Platforms reporting after closing bell on Wednesday, which Amazon
Elsewhere on the earnings front, Boeing
PacWest Bancorp
With strong deposit growth and earnings from peers, First Republic Bank
In economic news, demand for long-lasting goods like appliances, computers and other manufactured goods increased by a more-than-expected 3.2% in March with new orders at $276.4 billion, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The report signaled that the U.S. economy remains resiliente, as durable goods orders improved from February's downwardly revised decline of 1.2%.
Looking ahead, traders will react to more news on First Republic Bank as well as Meta Platforms earnings on Thursday.