01 Stock Market
As of Apr 23, U.S. stock index futures performed as follows: Dow futures eased 0.36%, S&P 500 minis slipped 0.14% and Nasdaq-100 contracts declined 0.14%, suggesting a cautious tone after the prior session’s rally and amid a busy earnings calendar.
Notable Stock Movers: Texas Instruments (TXN) up 11% after upbeat guidance signalled stronger analog-chip demand; Nokia (NOK) up 10.53% at $10.90 on robust cloud-driven orders; battery-maker QuantumScape (QS) up 28.04% at $9.36 in a high-volume rebound; Tesla (TSLA) fell 2.91% at $376.22 as investors questioned its enlarged capital-spending plan; business-software supplier ServiceNow (NOW) down 12.00% at $90.70 after flagging delayed Middle-East deals; defence giant Lockheed Martin (LMT) down 6% on an earnings miss.
Chipmakers and AI-linked names dominated the gainers’ list, reflecting investor enthusiasm for semiconductors, while aerospace, defence and high-growth software shares lagged. Traders are bracing for a data-heavy session featuring more blue-chip earnings, with sentiment finely balanced between upbeat tech outlooks and cautious guidance from cyclicals.
02 Other Markets
• 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose/fell 0.31%, to 4.31%.
• U.S. Dollar Index rose/fell 0.08% to 98.68.
• WTI crude oil futures rose/fell 0.14% to 93.09 USD/barrel; COMEX gold futures rose/fell 0.11% to 4747.90 USD/ounce.
03 Key News
1. American Express reported first-quarter profit of $4.28 per share, topping consensus and lifting its shares pre-bell. Spending on premium cards grew 9% FX-adjusted to $428 billion, aided by resilient travel and discretionary outlays from affluent clients; provisions for credit losses were held at $1.3 billion, signalling stable credit quality.
2. American Airlines slashed its full-year earnings outlook, citing a spike in jet-fuel costs that could turn FY 2026 results into a loss. The carrier blamed soaring oil prices tied to Middle-East tensions and said it is trimming capacity and raising ancillary fees to defend margins, unsettling airline investors.
3. Comcast beat revenue and earnings estimates as a strong sports lineup boosted Peacock subscribers and wireless adds. The firm lost fewer broadband customers than feared and logged record 435 000 wireless net adds, helping first-quarter adjusted EPS reach $0.79 versus the $0.73 consensus.
4. Blackstone posted a 25% jump in distributable earnings to $1.36 per share, buoyed by $70 billion of fresh inflows. Robust fundraising in credit and private-equity strategies and higher realizations from exits such as Medline lifted profitability despite volatile markets.
5. Lockheed Martin missed analyst EPS forecasts at $6.44 and guided cautiously, sending shares lower in early trade. Revenue edged up 0.3% to $18.0 billion, but a double-digit earnings contraction reflected program-timing and cost pressures, prompting investors to rotate out of defence names.
6. Tesla announced plans to lift capital spending above $25 billion to accelerate AI, robotics and chip initiatives, forecasting negative free cash flow ahead. Management said heavier outlays will fund Cybercab robo-taxis and Optimus robots, yet the enlarged budget tempered enthusiasm despite an unexpected $1.44 billion free-cash-flow surplus in Q1.
7. Nokia delivered a 54% year-on-year rise in operating profit to €281 million as hyperscale AI and cloud customers drove optical-network equipment orders past €1 billion. Management highlighted sustained demand for high-capacity fibre transport, boosting investor confidence and lifting U.S.-listed ADRs in pre-market trade.
8. Texas Instruments forecast second-quarter sales and earnings above Street estimates, citing improving demand from data-center and industrial clients. The upbeat outlook follows a period of heavy factory investment, and management signalled capital spending is normalising, fuelling an 11% pre-bell share price jump.
9. Microsoft unveiled a new multibillion-dollar plan to expand its Azure AI supercomputing and cloud infrastructure, alongside cybersecurity and skills programs. The commitment, described by CEO Satya Nadella as the company’s largest in the region to date, underscores intensifying Big-Tech investment to secure capacity for generative-AI workloads.
10. United Rentals raised its full-year revenue and EBITDA guidance after first-quarter results exceeded expectations, lifting the stock 14% pre-market. Management cited resilient non-residential construction demand and stronger equipment-rental pricing, signalling healthy U.S. capital-spending trends despite macro uncertainty.
Sources: Reuters, Dow Jones, Tiger Newspress, public market data
Disclaimer: For informational purposes only; not investment advice.
