Dow falls 809 points as Microsoft, Alphabet report earnings after the bell
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 809 points on Tuesday as investors anticipated major company earnings and weighed concerns about global economic growth. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
April 26 (UPI) — U.S. markets posted losses Tuesday as investors braced for earnings from major names including Microsoft and Google parent, Alphabet.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 809.28 points, or 2.38%, while the S&P 500 slipped 2.81%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed the day down 3.95% falling into bear market territory, down 23% from its record high.
Microsoft and Alphabet were both down during regular trading, declining 3.74% and 3.59% respectively as both reported earnings after the bell.
Shares of Microsoft began to climb in after-hours trading as the company exceeded Wall Street’s expectations as revenue rose 18% to $49.4 billion and earnings per share climbed 9% to $2.22 for its fiscal third quarter.
Alphabet, however, reported near misses on revenue, which grew 23% to $68.01 billion in the first quarter, down from 34% in 2021, and earnings per share which came in at $24.62 per share, short of analysts’ expectations of $25.91.
The company’s stock fell nearly 6% after the bell.
Other major names including Facebook parent Meta, Apple and Amazon are set to report quarterly earnings over the next two days.
U.S. markets also followed in the footsteps of major indexes in Europe and Asia amid concerns that COVID-19 outbreaks and corresponding lockdowns in China could harm the global supply chain.
Shares of Tesla fell 12.18% as the company has a factory in Shanghai and faced continued pressure from CEO Elon Musk‘s decision to purchase Twitter for $44 billion.
Markets also faced down concerns over the Federal Reserve tightening its monetary policy with treasuries, the dollar and oil prices all on the rise.
“There’s no question that economic growth is in trouble and that the runway for central banks to manage a soft landing is getting smaller as wages and inflation move higher,” Lauren Goodwin, economist and portfolio strategist at New York Live Investments told Bloomberg. “The big question for asset allocation is not whether inflation will be high. That’s a given. Instead, its whether growth can keep up.”
Following Tuesday’s losses, the Dow is down 4.2% for the month of April, while the S&P 500 has dropped 7.8% and the Nasdaq has plummeted 12.2% for the period.
