Tech Sector Anticipation Creates Volatile Market Conditions

 

The US stock market was mixed today as uneven second-quarter earnings reports and expectations leading up to giant tech-industry earnings from Alphabet and Tesla firmed up. At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average showed a marginal rise of 28.29 points or 0.07 percent to 40,443.73 points. On the other side, the S&P Global 500 added 0.89 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 5,565.30 points, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 24.83 points or 0.14 percent to close at 17,982.74 points.

The Dow Jones slipped 7.58 points, or 0.02 percent, to 40,407.86 at 9:50 AM ET a little later in the morning. The S&P Global 500 went even higher, 10.65 points or 0.19 percent to 5,575.06 points, with the Nasdaq Composite improving 51.70 points or 0.29 percent to 18,059.27 points.

Alphabet shares rose 0.5% in the tech sector, in marked contrast to Tesla's slide of 0.5%, a jarring reminder of the sector's volatility. Microsoft climbed 0.6%, with Amazon.com one of the biggest winners, rising 2.5%, demonstrating some investor confidence in mega-caps.