S&P 500 and Nasdaq Decline as Tech Stocks Struggle

On Monday, stocks fell to start the week as traders considered the latest quarterly earnings reports and awaited vital U.S. inflation data.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.59% to 14,015.68, leading to the downside. The S&P 500 fell 0.38% to 4,483.88, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up just 1.38 points to 35,091.14. The major averages alternated between gains and losses for most of the session before exiting the final hour.

Overview of other stocks

On Monday, Corporate earnings stood as a source of volatility for stocks again. After exceeding earnings expectations, Tyson Foods gained over 13%, while medical device maker Zimmer Biomet dropped 9% after its report.

In the meantime, shares of Facebook-parent Meta dropped more than 5%, continuing a post-earnings decline. The stock has now fallen around 31% since the company’s quarterly report. And shares of Netflix are still struggling after the media giant issued weak guidance in January. On Monday, they dropped another 2.1% after investment company Needham said its current strategy could not win the streaming wars.

Tavis McCourt, a strategist at Raymond James, released a note to clients. He said that investor psychology is shifting almost week-to-week basis. McCourt explained that one’s investment convictions are as hard as ever but also never more critical in driving outperformance. He also said that their conviction remains that economic strength will keep EPS higher along with interest rates.

So far, 57% of S&P 500 companies have posted quarterly earnings. According to FactSet, 78% of S&P 500 companies beat earnings estimates, and 78% topped revenue expectations. However, some disappointing outcomes from high-profile companies, including PayPal and Meta, sparked major pullbacks for some stocks.

More than 70 S&P 500 companies might post results this week. Three Dow components will deliver quarterly updates, including Coca-Cola and Disney.

Elsewhere, shares of Spirit Airlines rose 18% after Frontier Airlines announced a deal to combine with its low-cost competitor. The news seemed to boost sentiment among other airlines, with shares of United growing more than 3.2%.