An exchange-traded fund that tracks the Nasdaq 100 Index rose 0.8% in extended trading on Tuesday, supported by strong results out of both Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc.
The two are the first of the major technology and internet stocks to report this earnings season, and they helped to ease concerns that the group’s year-to-date rally, which has fueled the overall market’s advance, could be overdone.
Microsoft Corp. gained 4.6% after its results beat expectations and featured strong growth for its Azure cloud-computing business. Amazon.com Inc., which also has a major cloud business, rose 2.4%.
Google parent Alphabet Inc. rose 3.3% after its results beat expectations on the back of a recovery in ad sales. Meta Platforms Inc., the Facebook parent that reports its own results later this week, rose 1.9% in extended trading. The stock is up more than 70% this year.
The Nasdaq 100 Index is up 16% this year, even with a decline of 1.9% in Tuesday’s session that represented its biggest one-day decline since February. Most of the index’s rise has come on the back of big tech; Microsoft is up 15% in 2023, as of its latest close, while Alphabet is up almost 18%. Amazon, which will also report later this week, is up 22%.
By Ryan Vlastelica / Bloomberg
