My top 10 things to watch Thursday, Oct. 29 1. Tech is taking it on the chin. The reason? Alphabet shares are down more than 11% after a terrible earnings night. Microsoft's evening was better. But shares up 3% not enough to dissuade sellers. Plus, Caterpillar and ServiceNow are disasters this morning. Tonight is another big one for Club earnings with Amazon and Intel out. Also this morning, bond yields are down as new inflation data, out before-the-bell, basically matched expectations but remained well above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. After leaving interest rates steady yesterday afternoon, Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh talked tough on inflation. He also said the economy is looking stronger. New GDP numbers came in better than expected. 2. Alphabet missed on almost every line except Google Cloud, as questions grow. Can it have robust Search in a world where "high intent" searches are underway, even as query growth reaches a five-year high? Remember a search query is a unit of activity, not a fixed amount of ad revenue. AI mode currently monetizes at a lower rate…
Jim Cramer's top 10 things to watch in the stock market Thursday
In short
Alphabet dragged down the technology sector after disappointing results across nearly all divisions overshadowed cloud growth, muting the positive impact of Microsoft's robust cloud acceleration. In cybersecurity and semiconductor spaces, Fortinet and Marvell led sharp sector declines following weak product trends and reported buyout talks. Outside of tech, strong quarterly performances from healthcare giant Eli Lilly and restaurant operator Chipotle provided notable bright spots. Linde also helped lift industrial sentiment thanks to expanding demand tied to semiconductor manufacturing.
Key points
- Microsoft's Azure growth acceleration to 48% failed to counteract widespread technology s…: Microsoft's Azure growth acceleration to 48% failed to counteract widespread technology selling driven by Alphabet's post-earnings plunge.
- Inflation figures matching forecasts remained above the two percent target, reinforcing t…: Inflation figures matching forecasts remained above the two percent target, reinforcing the Federal Reserve's firm policy posture.
- Chipmakers faced compounded pressure from Samsung's conservative corporate outlook and Ma…: Chipmakers faced compounded pressure from Samsung's conservative corporate outlook and Marvell's potential acquisition discussions with Lumentum.