S&P 500 Gains for Eighth Day After Earnings: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Wall Street’s risk appetite raged anew on Thursday as strong tech earnings upended the ‘sell America’ narrative that rocked global markets last month in the grip of the tariff shock. 

The S&P 500 rose for eight consecutive days, its longest winning streak since August. The Nasdaq 100 finished 1.1% higher. Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc. jumped on upbeat results, boosting both the equities gauges. A report of the US weighing a potential easing of restrictions on Nvidia Corp.’s sales to the United Arab Emirates pushed shares higher during regular trading hours. 

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Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year rate around 4.22%, after investors slightly curbed their bets on US interest-rates cuts this year following factory activity data. A dollar index climbed on reports that Donald Trump’s administration reached out to China to start tariff talks.

Tech earnings largely drove optimism in the markets along with expectations that trade deals will offer many countries a reprieve from the highest tariffs first unveiled April 2. After parsing a slew of earnings, traders will turn their attention to the US jobs report that releases Friday, the last piece of significant data this week. 

“So far we’re seeing big tech companies deliver on earnings, which is reassuring,” Georgios Leontaris, chief investment officer for EMEA at HSBC Global Private Banking said earlier. “The other element of the story beyond earnings is obviously the ongoing debate as to whether we’ve seen peak tariff noise or not.”

After-Hours Earnings

After the closing bell, traders awaited Apple Inc.’s earnings for details on how the company views the impact of tariffs. Its shares fell post-market after its sales from China declined more than anticipated in the latest quarter, overshadowing otherwise solid results for the iPhone maker. 

Amazon.com Inc. gave an operating income forecast that missed expectations when markets closed, pushing shares lower in post-market trading. 

Here’s a snapshot of post-market earnings:

• Airbnb Inc. issued a weak outlook for the second quarter, following online travel peer Booking Holdings Inc. in blaming economic uncertainties for softer travel demand in the US. Shares are down in post-market trading.
• Block shares fell more than 10% after-hours. The digital-payments company posted first-quarter results below analysts’ estimates and lowered its full-year profit guidance.
• Instacart forecast adjusted Ebitda for the second quarter that beat the average analyst estimate.
• Reddit Inc. shares jumped after it said revenue in the current quarter will be better than estimates.
• Amgen Inc. outperformed Wall Street’s quarterly profit estimates as it moves forward with plans to crack the multibillion-dollar market for novel weight-loss medicines.

Sentiment

Meanwhile, General Motors Co. cut its full-year profit outlook citing exposure to auto tariffs, among the biggest financial hits revealed by any company so far to the trade tumult. Qualcomm Inc. shares dropped during regular trading after the company gave a tepid forecast, citing concerns over tariffs hurting demand for its products.

Despite some lackluster financial results, sentiment remained upbeat during the trading session on a report that the US has been pro-actively reaching out to China through various channels. At the same time, Trump remained defiant, saying Wednesday he would not rush deals to appease nervous investors and that market volatility has “nothing to do with tariffs.”

Earlier on Thursday, weekly data showed jobless claims jumped to the highest level since February. US manufacturing activity shrank by the most since November. 

Most markets in Europe and many in Asia were shut for holidays.  

The yen fell sharply against the dollar after the Bank of Japan said it will take longer than it previously thought to hit the inflation target.

In commodities, gold dropped to a two-week low on signs of potential trade talk progress between the US and other countries, which is quelling demand for haven assets. US oil futures broke a three-day string of losses as stocks rallied and President Donald Trump threatened broader sanctions against buyers of Iranian crude. 

The US and Ukraine reached a deal over access to the country’s natural resources, offering a measure of assurance to officials in Kyiv who had feared Trump would pull back his support in peace talks with Russia.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 rose 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time
• The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.1%
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%
• The MSCI World Index rose 0.2%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.5%
• The euro fell 0.4% to $1.1288
• The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.3279
• The Japanese yen fell 1.7% to 145.53 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin rose 2.1% to $96,576.68
• Ether rose 2.8% to $1,844.27

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 4.22%
• Germany’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 2.44%
• Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 4.48%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.5% to $59.06 a barrel
• Spot gold fell 1.8% to $3,228.43 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Richard Henderson, Margaryta Kirakosian, John Viljoen and Cecile Gutscher.

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