Key points:

  • The S&P 500 index rose slightly despite a turbulent trading session.
  • Meta Platforms shares fell 15% after forecasting capital expenditures of $40 billion for 2024.
  • Microsoft and Alphabet are expected to publish quarterly reports in the coming days.

The S&P 500 ended Wednesday’s trading session slightly higher amid choppy trading. The rise in US Treasury yields coincided with the publication of positive quarterly reports from a number of companies – primarily technology giants.

The S&P 500 added 1.08 points, or 0.02%, to 5,071.63. The Nasdaq Composite rose 16.11 points, or 0.10%, to 15,712.75. By contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 42.77 points, or 0.11%, to 38,460.92.

Why did Meta stock fall after the report?

In addition to macroeconomic indicators, investors watched with interest the quarterly reports of companies, especially large representatives of the growth stock segment. Meta Platforms shares were down 15% in after-market trading after the company announced a $40 billion capital expenditure forecast for 2024, despite first-quarter revenue beating analysts’ expectations.

Microsoft and Alphabet are expected to publish quarterly reports in the coming days.

Boeing shares fell 2.8% after reporting its first quarterly revenue decline in seven quarters, although the company still beat analysts’ forecasts.

In contrast, Texas Instruments shares rose 5.6% after the chipmaker forecast second-quarter revenue above analysts’ estimates.

Trading volume on US exchanges totaled 10.2 billion shares, below the average of 11.07 billion over the past 20 days.

Tesla shares rose despite negative report

Tesla shares posted strong gains of about 10% on Wednesday, thanks in large part to easing investor concerns about the company’s slowing growth. Tesla’s announcement of plans to release more affordable electric vehicle models in early 2025 had a positive effect.

Investors were initially skeptical, expecting negative news amid a difficult week for Tesla, which was marked by large-scale layoffs, the loss of key employees, lower product prices and the postponement of a long-awaited meeting with the Prime Minister of India.

Still, the unveiling of the company’s new plans helped Wall Street partially shrug off Tesla’s disappointing first-quarter results, which included lower-than-expected profit and the first drop in quarterly revenue in four years.