Stocks resume losses ahead of Big Tech earnings

U.S. stocks fell Tuesday after markets staged a rebound to end higher in the previous trading session. Investors are looking ahead to a batch of mega cap tech earnings in the coming days, with reports from Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOGL) due out after the bell.

The S&P 500 dipped 0.7% at the start of trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 230 points after the index staged a 500-point recovery on Monday to close in the green. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.1%.

Investors are in the heart of earnings season, with the S&P 500’s most heavily-weighted components scheduled to report earnings results this week. Facebook parent company Meta (FB), Apple (AAPL), and Amazon (AMZN) are also set to report quarterly results through Thursday.

As of Friday, one-fifth of companies in the index have reported results for the first quarter so far, with 79% reflecting an earnings beat for the period – above the five-year average of 77%, according to the latest available data from FactSet. The magnitude of the earnings beat, however, is below the five-year average: 8.1%, compared to 8.9%.

“The lower earnings growth rate for Q1 2022 relative to recent quarters can be attributed to both a difficult comparison to unusually high earnings growth in Q1 2021 and continuing macroeconomic headwind,” John Butters, a FactSet senior earnings analyst, said in a note.

U.S. stocks paralleled movements in global equity markets on Monday, with major stock indexes in Europe and…

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