S&P 500 rises above historic 7,000 with Fed, Big Tech earnings ahead

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index rose 0.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed. Bloomberg

• Tech earnings and guidance lifted US stocks; S&P 500 hit 7,000 for first time
• Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7%; Microsoft, Meta, and Tesla to report earnings after close
• Fed interest-rate decision and Powell's comments expected this afternoon

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Bullish earnings and guidance from tech companies helped to lift US stocks on Wednesday, ahead of reports from the likes of Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc. and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision this afternoon.

The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2% as of 9:48 a.m. in New York, with the benchmark surpassing the 7,000-point milestone for the first time. Shares of Starbucks Corp. climbed, with the coffee chain among the top-performing stocks in the index after issuing better-than-expected sales guidance.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index rose 0.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed.

Even with the S&P 500 pushing to a new high on Tuesday, “it seemed like investors were mostly sitting on their hands,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. He said that with a Fed decision on Wednesday and megacap technology earnings this week, “it was not a surprise that the action was a bit subdued yesterday.”

“It’s all about tech, as the sector benefits from a slew of bullish headlines,” Vital Knowledge founder Adam Crisafulli wrote Wednesday morning, noting “robust” results and guidance from ASML Holding, F5 Inc., SK Hynix, Seagate Technology Holdings PLC and Texas Instruments Inc. are lifting the sector.

A big test of tech sector optimism is due after markets close, when Microsoft, Meta and Tesla Inc. are all due to report earnings. Apple Inc. reports after the market closes Thursday.

Amazon.com Inc., another member of the Magnificent Seven group of megacap tech companies, said it was cutting 16,000 corporate jobs across the company in an organizational restructuring.

Traders’ attention is turning to the Fed’s interest-rate decision and Chair Jerome Powell’s comments this afternoon. The market is anticipating a hold in what will be the first Fed decision since Powell said the central bank was subpoenaed by the Department of Justice amid ongoing pressure from the White House to lower interest rates.

Weakness in the US dollar increases the risk that Powell “makes hawkish rate comments,” Dennis DeBusschere, president and chief market strategist at 22V Research LLC. A Bank of Canada rate decision is also expected Wednesday morning.

Still ahead this week, investors will get a data on jobless claims, durable goods orders and the US trade balance on Thursday, as well as producer prices on Friday.