Nasdaq Pulls Back

On the back of the Alphabet and Microsoft reporting earlier this week, the focus moves back onto big tech names today with Apple, Meta and Amazon all reporting Q4 results. The Nasdaq has turned lower in recent days following a negative market reaction to Tuesday’s results. Despite both companies topping forecasts on headline numbers, investors reacted poorly to underwhelming advertising revenues and regulatory uncertainty.

Meta Earnings Due

Focusing on Meta, the market is expecting Q4 EPS of $4.82 on revenues of $39.12 billion. If seen, this will mark an uptick from the prior quarter’s EPS and revenues results. A positive set of results today will mark the fourth consecutive quarter of positive results and should reignite the stock’s rally.

Ad Spending in Focus

As we saw earlier in the week, however, the focus is not just on the headline numbers. Traders will be carefully looking at how advertising spending has developed since the last quarter as well as the growth in the company’s AI sector. Additionally, in terms of Meta’s business sectors, traders will be keen to see Instagram usage has continued to climb. The company reported strong uptake for its Reels function, which saw time on the platform soaring by 40%. Investors will be looking to see whether this trend increased last quarter, offering strong competition against TikTok or if usage died down.

Technical Views

Meta

The rally in Meta has stalled for now into the bull channel top. Price has corrected lower but is still holding above the 383.24 level. This is a key market for the stock and while above here, the focus is on a further push higher. To the downside, 352.30 is the next support to note, with the bull channel lows coming in just ahead.