Big tech boosts Wall Street and overshadows Fed uncertainty – Markets

North American stock markets closed in value, driven by the accounts of large technology companies and in a context in which the US Federal Reserve (Fed) decided to keep interest rates unchanged. With inflation far from the 2% target, Jerome Powell, president of the Fed, described “an uncertain path” for the country, but ruled out further increases in key rates. The expected cuts are, however, postponed.

“They [a Fed] are not willing to raise rates. They will keep them stable and, at any sign of economic weakness or a decrease in inflation, they will be ready to attack and cut interest rates”, commented Paul Nolte, from

Murphy & Silvest, to Reuters.
The benchmark S&P 500 index advanced 0.91% to 5,064.20 points and the technological Nasdaq Composite increased 1.51% to 15,840.96 points. Following the gains, the industrial Dow Jones rose 0.85% to 38,225.66 points.

Among the main movements in the market, Qualcomm stands out, which closed the session climbing 9.74% to 180.10 dollars, after having presented quarterly accounts and profits above those expected by Washington. The semiconductor manufacturer announced revenue of $9.39 billion, compared to projections of $9.34 billion.

Another highlight was Carvana. The best quarterly results in the history of the used car sales company saw it soar 33.77% to 116.50 dollars. The profits were almost 400 million dollars higher than Washington expected.

Despite the encouraging results, with more than 77% of the companies in the S&P 500 that have already presented accounts recording profits above expectations, they have not been rewarded as in the past. “The common theme this quarter is that companies that are exceeding expectations are not being rewarded as much as in previous quarters. And those that are falling short are being destroyed,” Nolte added to Reuters.

DoorDash, an online food ordering and delivery platform, fell 10.34%, after the company forecast a lower-than-expected profit for the current quarter. Peleton fell 2.48%, after the CEO resigned and the company announced a 15% cut in its workforce.

Investors are now waiting for Apple’s results, which will be revealed this Thursday; and the report on the employment situation in April in the USA, presented this Friday.