Live Nasdaq Composite: Tech Stock Gains Unleashed as Stars Align for Risk-On Trade

This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates. 

The Nasdaq Composite kicked off Tuesday in the green, powered by a combination of blockbuster earnings, a retreat in crude oil prices and a geopolitical temperature that, for the moment, isn’t boiling over. Investor confidence has returned to the driver’s seat, and the tech-heavy index is responding in kind. Corporate profits continue to do the heavy lifting, while easing but still elevated energy costs and a fragile but intact Middle East ceasefire are giving bulls room to breathe.

WTI crude has retreated to around $100 a barrel, well below the April 7 spike to $114.58, meaningfully relieving the inflation pressure that had been compressing long-duration tech valuations. On the geopolitical front, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine offered a measured but stabilizing read Tuesday, characterizing Iran’s recent provocations as falling below the threshold that would unravel the ceasefire and reignite open conflict. The VIX has drifted to nearly 17, a far cry from its March peak near 31, while the 10-year Treasury is anchored around 4.4%.

Here’s a look at where things stand as of morning trading:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 49,243 Up 0.62%
Nasdaq Composite: 25,318 Up 1.0%
S&P 500: 7,257 Up 0.78%

Market Movers

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is among the session’s standout performers, advancing nearly 2% to trade around $390 after last week’s commanding earnings report, which delivered $109.9 billion in revenue, EPS of $5.11, and Google Cloud growth of 63%, with its backlog nearly doubling to north of $460 billion. Citizens reinforced the bullish case Tuesday, reiterating its Market Outperform rating and $515 price target, pointing to TPU chip commercialization and an accelerating Cloud trajectory as the twin engines positioned to drive Alphabet’s next leg of growth.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is holding near $412 as the Street continues to digest a fiscal Q3 that delivered $82.9 billion in revenue and an AI run rate that crossed $37 billion, a 123% surge year over year. Both Alphabet and Microsoft have also formalized an agreement granting the U.S. government’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation early access to evaluate frontier models, joining xAI, OpenAI, and Anthropic in the program.

Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) is turning heads with an 11% rally after posting a double-digit sales beat paired with an optimistic Q2 guide, a combination resonating with investors hungry for growth validation. Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) is the session’s notable outlier, shedding roughly 3% to near $141 despite a solid Q1 beat and Rosenblatt bumping its price target to $225 from $200. The pullback reflects a dynamic that’s become textbook for high-multiple names: the quarter was strong, but the expectations baked in were stronger.