Wall St Week Ahead – Big tech companies are recapturing market trains with profits

The rally continues Wall street faces a new test next week with a flurry of earnings reports from major US companies, including the tech and internet giants that recently regained market leadership.

More than a third of the S&P 500 will be releasing quarterly results next week, under the heading of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google parent Alphabet, the four largest US companies by market value.

Those stocks were up between 5% and 7% that month at Thursday’s close, while the S&P 500 was up just 1.6%. The equally weighted S&P 500 index, a barometer of the average stock, was down 0.2%.

“The expectation level for these names is a lot higher than it was a month ago given the stock performance, so I think they have to deliver,” said Walter Todd, Chief Investment Officer with Greenwood capital in South Carolina.

“It’s a question of foresight: Can they meet expectations that share prices reflect? “