Stock Market Today: Markets Mark Time Ahead of Tech Earnings, Fed
Stocks searched for direction ahead of mega-cap tech quarterly reports and tomorrow's rate decision.


Stocks were choppy Tuesday as traders awaited earnings due after the closing bell from Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT), and also looked ahead to tomorrow's interest rate announcement from the Federal Reserve.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4% to 38,467, while the broader S&P 500 fell less than 0.1% to 4,924. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.8% to 15,509.
In economic news, consumer confidence soared to a two-year high to kick off 2024, helped by easing inflation and strong growth. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose to 114.8 in January, up from a revised 108.0 in December. That's the highest reading since the end of 2021, and the third straight monthly increase, the Conference Board said.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
"January's increase in consumer confidence likely reflected slower inflation, anticipation of lower interest rates ahead and generally favorable employment conditions as companies continue to hoard labor," said Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, in a press release.
Oliver Allen, senior U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the data can be summed up in one line: "consumers show little sign of tiring."
Rising stocks and falling gas prices "probably explain much of the recent rise in consumer sentiment," Allen notes. "But the trend in sentiment is presumably also being boosted by the sustained sharp fall in inflation and the recent drop in mortgage rates," the economist adds. "Both likely will continue."
Elsewhere on the economic calendar, a measure of U.S. home prices rose for a 10th consecutive month to hit a record high in November. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city house price index rose 0.1% in November vs the prior month. Home prices rose despite high mortgage rates because of lower listings.
Tech earnings, Fed on tap
Markets have plenty to digest after Tuesday's bell, as well as in the sessions ahead. Earnings from Magnificent 7 stocks start tonight with Microsoft and Alphabet. By late Thursday, five mega-cap tech sector and communications services stocks with a combined market value of more than $10 trillion will have reported results.
This deluge of potentially market-moving tech earnings coincides with the next Fed meeting. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at a 22-year high when it wraps up Wednesday afternoon.
What market participants really care about is the timing of the Fed's first quarter-point rate cut. Fed Chief Jerome Powell is expected to push back on expectations for a March cut.
"This week's Fed meeting is likely to be a snoozer," says Lauren Goodwin, economist and chief market strategist at New York Life Investments.
SLB slides on Saudi oil cap
General Motors (GM), JetBlue (JBLU) and United Parcel Service (UPS) were stocks that found themselves in focus today after reporting earnings. SLB (SLB) didn't post earnings, but it too found itself in focus, and for unfortunate reasons.
Shares in the oilfield services giant fell more than 10% at one point during the session after Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company moved to lower its maximum capacity target, sparking concerns about global demand.
SLB pared its loss for the day but is still off more than 13% over the past 52 weeks on concerns about global energy demand. Peers Baker Hughes (BKR) and Halliburton (HAL) also slumped Tuesday.
Related content
- Best Dividend Stocks for Dependable Dividend Growth
- World's Most Valuable Company: Apple and Microsoft Battle for Top Spot
- All 30 Dow Jones Stocks Ranked: The Pros Weigh In
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

Dan Burrows is Kiplinger's senior investing writer, having joined the publication full time in 2016.
A long-time financial journalist, Dan is a veteran of MarketWatch, CBS MoneyWatch, SmartMoney, InvestorPlace, DailyFinance and other tier 1 national publications. He has written for The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Consumer Reports and his stories have appeared in the New York Daily News, the San Jose Mercury News and Investor's Business Daily, among many other outlets. As a senior writer at AOL's DailyFinance, Dan reported market news from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Once upon a time – before his days as a financial reporter and assistant financial editor at legendary fashion trade paper Women's Wear Daily – Dan worked for Spy magazine, scribbled away at Time Inc. and contributed to Maxim magazine back when lad mags were a thing. He's also written for Esquire magazine's Dubious Achievements Awards.
In his current role at Kiplinger, Dan writes about markets and macroeconomics.
Dan holds a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College and a master's degree from Columbia University.
Disclosure: Dan does not trade individual stocks or securities. He is eternally long the U.S equity market, primarily through tax-advantaged accounts.
-
Suze Orman's Number One Retirement Mistake
Interview Find out what Suze Orman thinks costs people thousands of dollars in retirement.
-
Social Security Turns 90: Why Retirees Are Still Losing Thousands to Outdated Tax Rules
Retirement Taxes Could the Social Security 90th anniversary be a good time to revisit outdated tax thresholds?
-
Stocks Struggle Ahead of Busy Fed Week: Stock Market Today
The minutes from the July Fed meeting will be released Wednesday, while Chair Powell will deliver a key speech at Jackson Hole on Friday.
-
Dow Hits New Intraday High: Stock Market Today
Value-hunters with big stakes in a particular component kept one of the main U.S. equity indexes in positive territory.
-
Markets Weigh Earnings and Inflation: Stock Market Today
The major U.S. indexes struggled Thursday amid a hot inflation reading and seasonal headwinds.
-
Dow Jones Adds 463 Points as Rate-Cut Odds Rise: Stock Market Today
Some futures traders are now pricing in the possibility of a jumbo rate cut in September, which lifted stocks today.
-
July CPI Report Ignites a Risk-On Rally: Stock Market Today
Market participants price out worst-case scenarios for tariffs and inflation and will now turn their attention to employment and growth.
-
Stocks Slip Ahead of July CPI Report: Stock Market Today
The latest inflation updates roll in this week and Wall Street is watching to see how much of an impact tariffs are having on cost pressures.
-
Nasdaq Ends the Week at a New High: Stock Market Today
The S&P 500 came within a hair of a new high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average still has yet to hit a fresh peak in 2025.
-
Stocks Swing Lower as Eli Lilly, Fortinet Spiral: Stock Market Today
The main indexes finished well off their session highs after a disappointing batch of corporate earnings reports.