Market action was mixed on Tuesday and market players awaited earnings from Apple (AAPL) and the next Federal Reserve interest rate decision. Breadth was slightly positive but big cap technology stocks were weak which reflected some nervousness over the Apple report.
Other earnings reports are rolling in and so far there are a number of disappointments from the likes of Amgen (AMGN) , Align (ALGN) , Maxim (MXIM) , etc. but there is some positive reactions to Advanced Micro (AMD) , KLA-Tencor (KLAC) , Ebay (EBAY) and others.
Apple is trading up sharply on its earning report initially although both eps and revenue are roughly in line with guidance. The company reduced revenue guidance slightly for the second quarter. Market players must have been expecting worse as these numbers aren't any big surprise. The initial spike is fading a bit now as investors wait for the conference call to start.
Apple management did a good job of lowering expectations when it warned so that may keep a bid under the stock. This is now more a value play than a momentum play but there is still tremendous cash flow and that makes up for other shortcomings.
The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) is trading up around 0.4% on Apple earnings and the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is up about 0.25%.
This report helps to put some support under the market but the focus will very quickly shift to Jerome Powell and the Fed on Wednesday.
Have a good evening. I'll see you tomorrow
