Day Traders Diary

4/28/23

The major averages rose to end the week finishing out April on a high note, notching its best month since January. The blue-chip index closed 272 points, or 0.8%, higher at 34,098.16. The S&P 500 added 0.83% to finish at 4,169.48. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.69% to end at 12,226.58 as investors parsed the latest crop of technology earnings.

The Dow finished April 2.5% higher, its best monthly showing since January, when the average ended up 2.8%. The S&P 500 logged a 1.5% monthly gain, while the Nasdaq ended the month slightly higher.

On a weekly basis, the Nasdaq is saw the largest gain, at 1.3%, in what was considered Big Tech's marquee earnings week. The Dow and S&P 500 are each finished the week about 0.9% higher.

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.

Amazon shares were down nearly 4%. When reporting first-quarter results, the online retailer said its cloud business decelerated, though it did beat Wall Street's expectations for revenue in the quarter.

Snap tumbled more than 17% following a revenue miss. Pinterest shares dropped nearly 15.7% after issuing disappointing second-quarter revenue growth expectations. First Solar slid more than 9% after missing Wall Street expectations for the first quarter.

Not every tech stock was down following their respective releases. Intel shares climbed 4% after the semiconductor firm beat estimates on the top and bottom lines.

Data released Friday morning showed the 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.

Also of note, shares of troubled First Republic Bank plunged more than 43% after CNBC's David Faber reported that the most likely outcome for the regional bank is the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation taking receivership. The stock has lost more than 97% of its value since the start of the year.