NEW YORK, Oct 22 — Investors are homing in on a flood of earnings reports from Wall Street’s tech and Internet giants, as the high-growth stocks that have led markets higher for years face pressures from regulation, supply-chain snags and rising Treasury yields.
Strong earnings reports have helped lift the S&P 500 to fresh record highs, with the benchmark index rising 5.5 per cent so far in October. In September, the index posted its biggest monthly percentage drop since the pandemic began in March 2020. Meanwhile, shares of Facebook fell 5 per cent yesterday after Snap Inc, the owner of photo messaging app Snapchat, said privacy changes implemented by Apple on iOS devices hurt its ability to target and measure its digital advertising.
Many tech-focused companies received a boost in the wake of the pandemic, amid a shift in consumer behaviour amid economic lockdowns and a move to working from home. Supply-chain issues including the semiconductor shortage are sure to be a topic for iPhone maker Apple, while Amazon could give a window into how the holiday shopping season may be hit by logistics snags.