Amidst Mixed Corporate Earnings, Potential Market Upward Trend Today

Yesterday we saw the stock making upward trend for most of the session. That is well supported by the rebound in major indices from last week. Even though we saw some volatility in the afternoon session which came from the Treasury Department's quarterly borrowing estimates, market still managed to recover and close in the Green.

The Treasury's announcement that Q2 borrowing is projected at $243 billion, $41 billion more than previously estimated, caused a brief dip in stocks at 3:00 PM US eastern time. However, the market rebounded, with many stocks closing the session on a positive note, leading the equal-weighted S&P 500 to a 0.3% gain, ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting, jobs data, and big-name earnings reports.

Meta Platforms (META) saw a decrease, closing at $432.62, down by $10.67, or -2.4%. Alphabet (GOOG) ended the day at $167.90, down by $5.79, or -3.3%. Microsoft (MSFT) closed at $402.25, a decrease of $4.07, or -1.0%.

Tesla (TSLA) experienced a significant gain, closing at $194.05, up by $25.76, or +15.3%, following temporary approval in China for its self-driving service. Apple (AAPL) closed at $173.50, up by $4.30, or +2.48%, after Bernstein takes a bullish stance on Apple.

The market faced some resistance, particularly as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite approached their 50-day moving averages, with levels at 5,125 and 16,053, respectively.

Even though we saw market faced resistance as S&P 500 and NASDAQ trade near the 50-day MA period, as shown above, the consumer discretionary sector outperformed, posting a +2.0% gain, while only two sectors, communication services (-2.1%) and financials (-0.2%), recorded losses.

This week is packed with potentially market-moving events, including the release of over 170 S&P 500 company reports for the March quarter, an FOMC decision and press conference, and several key economic releases.

We do need to watch significant releases include the April ISM Manufacturing Index and the April Employment Report, set for Wednesday and Friday, respectively. Key events for Tuesday include the Q1 Employment Cost Index, February FHFA Housing Price Index, February S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index, April Chicago PMI, and April Consumer Confidence.

While market is showing that resistance is present, there are some stocks we might want to watch or avoid. This could help us to not make unnecessary move.

MicroStrategy has announced addition of Bitcoin in its acquisition strategy, but their earnings show a challenging Q1 as Non-GAAP EPS fell short by $8.13, and revenue also missed expectations, dropping 5.2% year-over-year. This might cast doubt as the aggressive Bitcoin acquisition strategy has yet to yield the desired financial outcomes, with a significant investment in Bitcoin not offsetting operational declines.

We saw stock prices declined by 3.6%, reflecting investor concerns over the company's current strategy. I think we should avoid this stock now even though while Bitcoin price might trend higher in time to come, MicroStrategy need to rethink how their acquisition strategy could create cash flow for its operations.

This optimistic outlook led to a 3.5% increase in shares in extended trading. I think NXP Semi could gain even more as the AI investment moves with the Big tech, and there should be potential improvement coming to NXP.

For JD, I would think we need to look at China retail sales, the last data release in March show that retail sales rose by 5.5%, so if the economic growth forecast continue for China in 2024, then there is potential in JD.com. I have a smal position in JD.com.

For SMCI, investors should looked at their market share and integration of Nvidia's latest products. Market is anticipating strong revenue growth and will be keenly watching the company's ability to maintain its competitive edge in the AI server market.

I would be watching how SMCI would trade in the pre-market today (30 April), this should give us a clue on how traders and investors looks like.

I personally think that stock market should still be in an upward trend, with some key earnings release and also the economic data coming this week. There are some opportunities today that can be taken.

But I would watch the price action from pre-market and see how the market sentiment looks like for these stocks.

Appreciate if you could share your thoughts in the comment section whether you think we would still see an upward trend market today?

Disclaimer: The analysis and result presented does not recommend or suggest any investing in the said stock. This is purely for Analysis.