Nasdaq Composite Treads Carefully Ahead of Big Tech Bonanza, Fed Decision

By Gerelyn Terzo Published Apr 29, 10:17AM EDT

Quick Read

Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), Meta (META), and Microsoft (MSFT) are reporting earnings today after the bell, with investors nervous following OpenAI’s failure to meet internal growth targets, a report that has rippled through AI-adjacent stocks.
The Federal Reserve’s rate decision and four tech giants’ earnings reports are creating a wait-and-see market posture, while geopolitical tensions over Middle East shipping are pushing oil prices higher and adding pressure to an already uncertain macro environment.
Core capital goods orders surged 3.3% in March, the strongest monthly climb in five years, signaling sustained corporate appetite for capital spending.

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Nasdaq Composite Treads Carefully Ahead of Big Tech Bonanza, Fed Decision — © Wikimedia Commons

The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) opened Wednesday’s session on the back foot, slipping 0.21% as investors adopted a wait-and-see posture ahead of a day packed with market-moving catalysts. With the Federal Reserve set to deliver its latest rate decision this afternoon and four of the Big Tech companies reporting earnings after the bell, caution was the order of the day. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) is looking at a 12.8% gain for the month of April if it can hold on to current levels.

Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft are all due to report quarterly results today, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. OpenAI is influencing sentiment across the board, following a report that the AI giant has fallen short of its own internal growth targets , news that rattled AI-adjacent stocks on Tuesday. In a separate development, Amazon confirmed that OpenAI’s models will be available through its AWS cloud platform, just one day after the company announced a significant reshaping of its partnership with Microsoft.

Corporate America’s appetite for capital spending showed no signs of cooling in March, with core capital goods orders surging 3.3%, the sharpest monthly climb in five years, following a revised 1.6% rise in February. Durable goods orders broadly held their own, gaining 0.8% on the month with strength spread across communications equipment, electrical hardware, vehicles, and military aircraft. Shipments, which feed directly into GDP models, rounded out the strong picture, up 0.5% overall and accelerating to 1.2% once aircraft are excluded.

Wait and See

Adding to the uncertainty, oil prices pushed higher on renewed fears of prolonged shipping disruption through the Strait of Hormuz, with Brent crude briefly clearing $115 a barrel and WTI climbing above $103. The UAE’s surprise exit from OPEC rattled energy markets further, injecting an additional layer of geopolitical risk into an already tense macro backdrop

Jerome Powell and the Fed will also be front and center this afternoon, with the policy statement expected to be parsed word by word by traders looking for any signal on the rate path ahead. Separately, the Senate Banking Committee is moving to advance Kevin Warsh’s nomination to take the reins at the Fed once Powell’s term expires on May 15, a leadership transition that adds another variable for markets to digest.

Stock Movers

Susquehanna’s Christopher Rolland bumped his price target on Advanced Micro Devices (Nasdaq: AMD) from $300 to $375, while maintaining a Positive rating on the stock.

SoFi (Nasdaq; SOFI) delivered a solid quarter, beating revenue expectations with $1.09B against a $1.05B consensus and adding 1.1 million new members to bring its total to 14.7 million.

About the Author Gerelyn Terzo →

Gerelyn Terzo is the author of dividend investing handbook "Dividend Investing Strategies: How to Have Your Cake & Eat It Too." A veteran financial journalist, she covers agri-finance for outlets like Global AgInvesting and the broader stock market and personal finance for 24/7 Wall Street. She began at CNBC and later helped launch Fox Business in New York. Gerelyn currently resides in Woodland Park, Colorado and dabbles in nature photography as a hobby.