S&P 500 Goes Nowhere as Investors Brace for Big Tech Week

The market is about as flat as it gets today. As of 1:45 p.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.13%) and Nasdaq-100 indexes are down by 0.1%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.12%) is up by 0.1%. On average, it’s a standstill:

^SPX data by YCharts

Monday’s handful of reports is just the appetizer

Investors are holding their proverbial breath for a week full of high-impact earnings reports. About one-third of S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 members are issuing financial reports this week. The Dow leads the way with 11 reports out of 30 components, or 36.7% of the full roster.

But most of the action is coming in a few days. Verizon (VZ +1.55%) started off with a mixed report on Monday morning, representing the only quarterly update among Dow stocks. Domino’s Pizza (DPZ 8.84%) joined Verizon as an S&P 500 representative, falling just short of Wall Street’s headline targets. None of the Nasdaq-100 names issued a report this morning.

Beyond a very light load of earnings reports, the Iran conflict isn’t generating fresh headlines. Oil prices have barely moved since last Thursday, the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, and serious peace talks are still on the back burner.

Five mega-cap reports could shake things up

So this week is off to a quiet start, but that will surely change as the earnings reports pour in. Five of the Magnificent 7 companies are slated to report on either Wednesday or Thursday. Whether they have good news or bad, their presentations will move the market. In particular, investors will look for new evidence of profitable growth in artificial intelligence (AI) services.

And of course, no one knows what will happen in the Persian Gulf this week. Be prepared for sudden market swings in any direction.