U.S. Stocks Dip Before Tesla, Alphabet Releases Earnings | Wall Street Today

Major U.S. stock indices started the day in the green only to close with minor declines as investors looked to big tech's financial results that could provide clues whether their earnings growth is keeping pace with rising valuations.

Nvidia, Amazon.com, Meta Platforms, and Alphabet are four of the top five contributors to year-over-year earnings growth for the S&P 500 in the second quarter, according to the FactSet report. That, along with their heavy weighting in major indices, highlights their importance and why their financial prospects could sway the entire stock market.

Excluding these four companies, earnings growth rate for the remaining 496 companies in the S&P 500 would be 5.7% for the second quarter of 2024, according to FactSet.

The median sales price for existing homes climbed in June to a record high for a second straight month, cooling demand, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors.  All four major U.S. regions posted sales declines. Year-over-year, sales waned in the Northeast, Midwest and South but were unchanged in the West.

“Homes are sitting on the market a bit longer, and sellers are receiving fewer offers," the organization's chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a press release Tuesday. "Even as the median home price reached a new record high, further large accelerations are unlikely."

Treasury yields declined after existing-home sales fell in June and total housing inventory gained in June, signaling prices could soon cool and strengthening the case for the U.S. Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates in the next few months.

Crude oil fell to a six-week low as investors await the next inventory data from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday for signs of strength in demand.

Alphabet shares advanced after the market closed as second quarter earnings beat estimates. "We are innovating at every layer of the AI stack," CEO Sundar Pichai said in the company's press release.

Tesla shares dipped both during regular market hours and after the close as the electric vehicle maker reported earnings that missed analysts' estimates.