Stock Market Today: Stocks Run Out of Steam Ahead of Meta Earnings

Following a solid start to the week, stocks spent most of Wednesday struggling for direction. However, a mid-afternoon burst of buying power gave two of the three main indexes another win on the week. 

At the close, the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.1% at 15,712 and the S&P 500 was 0.02% higher at 5,071. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, slipped 0.1% to 38,460, snapping its four-day win streak.

There were plenty of headlines for investors to sift through today, including those centered on Tesla (TSLA) earnings. The Magnificent 7 stock surged 12.1% as the company's promise of an accelerated launch of its lower-cost vehicle offset a top- and bottom-line miss.

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Tesla was expected to report "disaster results" in a "rip-the-band-aid-off" first quarter, says Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives, who maintained an Outperform (Buy) rating on the stock. But CEO Elon Musk "finally stepped up as the adult in the room and laid the foundation for Tesla's growth strategy with most importantly a lower-cost vehicle now slated for 2025 production and delivery."

Texas Instruments (TXN) was another post-earnings gainer, rising 5.6% on the chipmaker's better-than-expected Q1 earnings. Humana (HUM), on the other hand, slumped 3.7% after the health insurer gave disappointing full-year guidance.  

Boeing burned through cash in Q1

Boeing (BA, -2.9%) was also in the earnings spotlight, with the blue chip stock plunging to a 17-month low after earnings. 

Following a rough start to 2024 in which the company had to contend with the grounding of its 737 Max 9 aircraft, BA disclosed a first-quarter per-share loss of $1.13 on $16.6 billion in revenue. While both figures were better than analysts' were expecting, the company also said it ran through $4 billion in cash over the three-month period. 

"Near term, yes, we are in a tough moment," wrote Dave Calhoun, who will be stepping down as CEO of Boeing at the end of this year, in a letter to employees. "Lower deliveries can be difficult for our customers and for our financials. But safety and quality must and will come above all else."

Congress passes TikTok ban ahead of Meta earnings

Next up on the earnings calendar is Meta Platforms (META), which will release its Q1 results after Wednesday's close. The Facebook parent closed down 0.5% in a buy-the-rumor, sell-the-news session after lawmakers passed a foreign aid bill that includes a potential TikTok ban. ByteDance, the Chinese social media app's parent company, has up to one year to divest TikTok or the platform could be banned from U.S. app stores. 

"The motivations [for the TikTok bank] are around concerns that China could misuse American user data," says Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, adding that the impact for other social media platforms are likely limited because this is more a political move. "That said, it's still something the likes of Meta will be keenly monitoring," she notes. "Although the bill is progressing, nothing is set in stone – TikTok is likely to mount a legal challenge to the ruling."

Meta shares are down 10% in Wednesday's extended session. While the social media platform's Q1 results beat expectations, it gave second-quarter revenue guidance of $37.8 billion at the midpoint, below analysts' estimates for revenue of $38.3 billion. 

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