(The Closing Bell will be updated sometime after 4:00 PM CDST to include the latest updates from IBD and Bloomberg Evening Briefing.)
FYI: Falling shares of Google parent Alphabet pulled the S&P 500 lower Tuesday after the internet giant reported its slowest revenue growth in years, inciting a modest retreat from communication and technology stocks.
Alphabet disclosed late Monday its slowest quarter of revenue growth since 2015, raising new questions about tech’s ability to maintain substantial growth and profit margins in the later stages of an economic cycle. Shares of the tech firm fell more than 8%, on track for its biggest daily decline in more than seven years, as losses spilled over into other internet stocks.
The S&P 500 rose 0.10% in recent trading, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell further, shedding .66%, pushing both indexes away from their record closes a day earlier.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, rose 38 points, or 0.15%, to 26592, as falling shares of Apple and UnitedHealth Group, the latter of which has been battered by legislators’ proposal to extend Medicare for all, competed with rising shares of McDonald’s and Pfizer , both of which reported upbeat earnings.
Alphabet said Monday it earned $36.3 billion in revenue for the first quarter, missing analysts’ expectations and crimping its profit margin, while earnings also came in below projections.
For now, Alphabet’s lackluster results are leading investors to scrutinize valuations throughout the tech and communications sectors, analysts said, an exercise that could lead to some near-term volatility among shares of those companies.
Prior to Monday’s earnings release, shares of Alphabet had been trading at 26 times the revenue its projected to earn over the next 12 months, around the same valuation prior to the fourth-quarter selloff, according to FactSet. With Tuesday’s losses, shares were now trading at 24 times.
Shares of communication stocks in the S&P 500 fell 3%. Technology stocks suffered minor losses, including Apple, which is due to report earnings after market’s close on Tuesday, along with some chip makers and software companies like Salesforce.
Still, earnings reports have mostly exceeded expectations, and McDonald’s and Pfizer both released upbeat results Tuesday to send shares up 0.7% and 2.6%, respectively. That helped keep more substantial losses at bay, analysts said.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 was down less than 0.1% in recent trading. In Asia, the Shanghai Stock Exchange was up 0.5%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.7% and Korea’s Kospi lost 0.6%
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-30/your-evening-briefingMarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-futures-mixed-after-another-round-of-records-2019-04-30/printWSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-waver-after-wall-street-notches-fresh-record-11556611063Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-29/asian-stocks-to-trade-mixed-ahead-of-china-data-markets-wrap?srnd=premiumIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/nasdaq-slides-alphabet-stock-sells-off-earnings/CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/30/stock-market-earnings-data-fed-meeting.htmlReuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-streets-record-run-hits-snag-after-alphabet-tumbles-idUSKCN1S619OU.K.:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-100-lower-as-miners-mourn-china-data-weak-forecasts-add-to-woes-idUKKCN1S60KEEurope:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-stocks-end-flat-but-gains-for-a-fourth-straight-month-idUSKCN1S60KSAsia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-mixed-as-us-china-trade-talks-resume-2019-04-29/printBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/30/us-bonds-treasury-yields-tick-lower-as-investors-await-economic-data.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/30/forex-market-china-pmi-data-fed-meeting-in-focus.htmlOil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/30/gold-market-fed-policy-meeting-economic-data-in-focus.htmlGold
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/30/gold-market-fed-policy-meeting-economic-data-in-focus.htmlWSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/usMajor ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitorSPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-trackerSPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectorsCurrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx 
