Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Philip Morris International and Blackstone are amongst the companies announcing their quarterly results today. Meanwhile, markets stay calm and await any positive signals for the next move. The Dow and S&P 500 declined 0.23% and 0.01% in normal trading on Wednesday, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite marginally increased 0.03%.

The persistent inflation and hawkish Fed comments keep the markets on shaky ground as recession fears loom ahead. Investors’ market nervousness was sparked by mixed earnings results, which led to those changes. According to the Beige Book assessment, the US economy paused in recent weeks as jobs and inflation slowed and credit availability increased.

After revealing that its net income and GAAP earnings both decreased by more than 20% from a year ago, Tesla’s stock plummeted 6% in extended trading. In the meantime, IBM gained 1.5% after the technology company reported expanding margins.

Today, US stock futures declined as traders analysed the most recent round of company earnings. S&P 500 futures fell 0.3%, Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.4%, and Dow futures fell 0.15%.

Also Read – US Stock Market: How high will the federal funds rate go?

Shrey Jain, Founder and CEO, SAS Online shares his thoughts on the valuations of tech stocks and on the key events this week.

Host of earnings from the financial space is likely to keep markets volatile this week. Any good number from Banking and Financial space may marginally abate fears of corporate shakeouts after the debacle of SVB and Signature Bank.

Nasdaq, a benchmark reflecting the Information and technology sector may remain under pressure as hawkish comments from US Fed Governors/Presidents may unnerve investors that rate hikes are unlikely to ebb anytime soon.

Also, the valuation of US Technology stocks remains on the higher side and recessionary fears may further dampen sentiments. Anticipating rate hikes to peak by July 2023 and rate cuts by end of 2023 on recession, Nasdaq gained around 20% this year, far ahead of the S&P 500 gain of around 8%. Hence Nasdaq may give away some of the earlier gains.

The CBOE Volatility Index which trades below 17, the lowest since January 2022, may also edge higher.

Also Read – The Fed should pause rate hikes now: Mark Zandi, Moody’s Analytics

Key events for today include Initial Jobless Claims for April 15th, Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook, Existing Homes Sales and Existing Homes Sales Growth MoM. The House Panel vote, planned next week on a bill that would raise the US debt ceiling and enact cuts to US spending.

The number of people who initially applied for unemployment insurance during the previous week is measured by initial jobless claims. The market impact varies from week to week, but this is the most recent U.S. economic data available. A figure that is higher than expected is typically unfavourable (bearish) for the USD, whereas a reading that is lower than expected is typically favourable (bullish).