Nasdaq jumps to record close as major tech names rise ahead of earnings

The Nasdaq Composite rose to a fresh record on Tuesday as investors readied for key corporate earnings releases, including reports from notable tech names.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.78% to a record close of 18,712.75. The S&P 500 added 0.16% to end at 5,832.92. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average underperformed, falling 154.52 points, or 0.36%, to close at 42,233.05.

Alphabet, Snap, Reddit, Chipotle and Advanced Micro Devices are all scheduled to post their quarterly results after the market closes. Tech juggernauts Meta Platforms and Microsoft are slated to report Wednesday, while Apple is up on Thursday.

Ahead of their earnings releases, shares of Meta jumped 2.6%, and Alphabet advanced 1.8% on Tuesday.

“It’s currently an expensive market, and so I think that investors need for earnings growth to accelerate in order to justify these higher PE ratios,” CFRA Research chief investment strategist Sam Stovall said.

This will mark the busiest week of the earnings season with more than 150 S&P 500 companies scheduled to have reported by Friday’s close.

Traders also continued to keep an eye out on Treasury yields, as the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to its highest level since July.

BTIG’s chief market technician Jonathan Krinsky believes there is more near-term choppiness ahead for the market with just five trading days left before the U.S. presidential election.

“While we aren’t looking for a bear market, our conviction remains high that we are poised for some downside volatility over the coming weeks,” he wrote in a note.

The major averages are coming off a winning session. Notably, the blue-chip Dow broke a five-day losing streak, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq notched its eighth positive session of the last nine.