Financial experts have been cautionary for some time now about the so-called FAANG stocks which have been mostly responsible for this prolonged bull market but which cause concern since they make up such a hugely disproportionate share of the index.  In other words, everything’s fine as long as FAANG is, but if FAANG falters, won’t we all be in a heap of trouble?  


Thus, on Friday, when Taiwan Semiconductors cut its revenue targets due to a softening demand for smartphones, the entire market went into panic sell-mode since this strikes right at the heart of FAANG.  This panic selling and buying continued today whipsawing back and forth in a 300 point range before settling at close down just 14.  This was compounded by growing concerns about inflation given the new direction in the bond market.  But Q1 still looks very hopeful, which is currently saving the market from deeper losses.  In fact, today the Q1 S&P forecast was hiked again, this time to 20 percent vs 19.4 last week vs 18.6 the week before.  But volume remains low at 5.7 billion as investors wait for more Q1 reports.  As of today, 18 percent have reported with 78 percent beating forecasts.  This week all the FAANG companies are reporting.  By this time next week, more than one-third of the index will have reported. 

mon  APRIL 23, 2018 / 5:55 pm

Wall Street ends mixed as investors eye earnings

Stephen Culp

DJ:  24,448.69  -14.25         NAS:  7,128.60  -17.53         S&P:  2,670.29  +0.15       4/23

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street ended mixed on Monday as concerns about soft smartphone demand weighed on tech stocks and pulled the Nasdaq lower while earnings optimism protected against deeper losses.

Tech stocks dragged on both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ahead of a big week of earnings for the sector. Chipmaker shares dropped after the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (2330.TW), cut its full-year revenue target due to softer demand for smartphones. 

Yields on 10-year U.S. Treasuries US10YT=RR rose to their highest level since January 2014 amid concerns over the growing supply of government debt and accelerating inflation.

“The markets are clearly spooked by this move in the bond market,” said Stephen Massocca, senior vice president at Wedbush Securities in San Francisco.  “Ultimately if these long-term interest rates continue to move higher, that’s going to continue to be a stumbling block for markets and I think we’ll continue to see markets trading down,” said Massocca.

Earnings provided a bright spot, with 18 percent of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported, 78.2 percent of which have beat consensus estimates.  “By and large earnings have been very good, they continue to be supportive of the market,” Massocca added.  Analysts expect earnings growth at S&P 500 companies of nearly 20 percent in the first quarter, the strongest showing in seven years, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Google parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) was up slightly in volatile after-hours trading following its earnings release; the company reported a 73 percent jump in profits in the first quarter.  Quarterly results are expected this week from 181 S&P 500 companies, including technology heavy-hitters Facebook Inc (FB.O), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Intel Corp (INTC.O). 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 14.25 points, or 0.06 percent, to 24,448.69, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.15 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,670.29 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 17.53 points, or 0.25 percent, to 7,128.60.  Of the 11 major S&P sectors, six ended the session in positive territory, with the biggest percentage gain coming from the Telecom index .SPLRCL. 

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index .SOX closed down 1.3 percent, posting its fourth straight session of declines on concerns of slowing smartphone demand.  Merck & Co Inc (MRK.N) helped lift the healthcare sector, 2.4 percent following a Goldman Sachs upgrade to “buy.” {nL3N1S051J]  Aluminum company stocks dropped as the United States opened the door to sanctions relief for Russian aluminum giant United Company Rusal Plc (0486.HK). Alcoa (AA.N) tumbled 13.5 percent and Arconic fell (ARNC.N) 5.2 percent, making it the biggest percentage loser on the S&P.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.22-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.39-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 5.76 billion shares, compared to the 6.80 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.