Market Monitor April 25 ( Texas Instruments, Nvidia & Amazon UP, IBM, PepsiCo & Comcast DOWN)

Wall Street Rallies Again: Tech Leads the Charge, Alphabet Shines After-Hours

U.S. stocks continued their winning streak on Thursday, closing higher for the third day in a row. The S&P 500 gained 2% to finish at a record 5,484 points.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq surged 2.7% to 17,166, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.2%.

Hopes for Rate Cuts and Trade Uncertainty Shape Sentiment

Investors are increasingly positioning for a potential rate cut by the Federal Reserve, possibly as early as June. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack hinted that the central bank could act quickly if economic data and clarity around immigration and trade policies improve.

Meanwhile, trade tensions with China remained in focus. President Trump criticized Beijing for pulling back on Boeing orders despite earlier commitments. Still, markets found some optimism in speculation about a possible breakthrough in US-China trade talks.

The US dollar weakened further, with the euro rising to around 1.1393 as currency markets continued to react to growing policy uncertainty.

Mixed Signals from Economic Data

Thursday's economic reports offered a mixed picture. Durable goods orders jumped 9.2% in March, well above expectations of a 1.6% rise. However, weekly jobless claims ticked up to 222,000, and both the Chicago Fed National Activity Index and existing home sales showed signs of softening.

Home sales dropped nearly 6% last month, though the median price rose to $403,700.

Big Tech Leads, Alphabet Impresses After the Bell

Tech giants were the clear winners on Thursday. Apple (AAPL | +1.84%), Nvidia (NVDA | +3.62%), Amazon (AMZN | +3.29%), and Meta Platforms (META | +2.48%) rallied between 1.8% and 4%.

Alphabet (GOOG | +2.38%), Google's parent company, gained more than 4% in after-hours trading following a standout earnings report. Revenue came in at $90.2 billion, beating the expected $89.2 billion. Net income soared 46% year-over-year to $34.5 billion.

The company highlighted strong performance in advertising, cloud services, and paid subscriptions. CEO Sundar Pichai also pointed to the successful rollout of the new Gemini 2.5 AI model as a key growth driver. Alphabet announced a $70 billion stock buyback and raised its dividend by 5%.

IBM and PepsiCo Disappoint Despite Meeting Expectations

Not every company joined the party. IBM (IBM | -6.58%) lost 6.6%, even after posting better-than-expected earnings and revenue. Analysts cited concerns about the performance of its software division and lingering macroeconomic uncertainty.

PepsiCo (PEP | -4.89%) dropped nearly 5% after slightly missing Q1 expectations and cutting its full-year earnings outlook. CEO Ramon Laguarta warned of higher supply chain costs driven by global trade volatility.

Other Noteworthy Movers

Texas Instruments (TXN | +6.6%) and Dow Inc (DOW | +2.7%) both posted better-than-expected quarterly results. Merck (MRK | +1.4%) saw profit growth driven by strong sales of its cancer drug Keytruda but trimmed its full-year guidance due to import tariffs.

Despite customer losses in broadband, Comcast (CMCSA | -3.71%) delivered a better-than-expected report, though shares slid 3.7%. Tesla (TSLA | +3.5%) rose 3.5%, extending gains from earlier in the week, even as EU sales dropped for a third straight month. STMicroelectronics (STM | +7.16%) surged 7.1% on signs of a rebound in demand.

Looking Ahead

On Friday, all eyes will be on U.S. consumer sentiment data.

With earnings from tech heavyweight Intel (INTC | +4.37%) due soon, investors will stay focused on signs of economic resilience and clues about the Fed’s next move on interest rates.

Daily Market Analysis – April 24, 2025 (After Market Close)

Short Term Trend

SPY (S&P 500 ETF)

• Short-Term Trend: Down (no change)
• Support at $500
• Resistance at $550
• Volume: Slightly below average (50)
• Pattern: strong up move, close to resistance

QQQ (Nasdaq-100 ETF)

• Short-Term Trend: Down (no change)
• Support at $415
• Resistance at $466
• Volume: Slightly below average (50)
• Pattern: strong up move, close to resistance

IWM (Russell 2000 ETF)

• Short-Term Trend: Down (no change)
• Support at $170
• Resistance at $197
• Volume: Slightly below average (50)
• Pattern: strong up move, close to resistance

Long Term Trend

SPY (S&P 500 ETF)

• Long-Term Trend: Down (no change)

QQQ (Nasdaq-100 ETF)

• Long-Term Trend: Down (no change)

IWM (Russell 2000 ETF)

• Long-Term Trend: Down (no change)

Market Breadth Analysis for April 24, 2025 (After Market Close)

1. General Market Sentiment (April 24, 2025)

Market breadth on April 24 was overwhelmingly bullish, with:

• 83.6% of stocks advancing versus only 14.9% declining.

• 6.9% of stocks gained more than 4%, and only 1.1% declined more than 4%.

• Participation across moving averages improved, with 74.3% trading above their 20-day SMA, and 25% or more holding above their 50, 100, and 200-day SMAs.

→ This strong breadth suggests broad participation in the rally, not just leadership from a few mega-cap names.

2. Short-Term Breadth Trend (Last 3 Trading Days: Apr 22–24)

• All three sessions show above 75% advancers, peaking on April 22 at 86.8%.

• There’s a consistent rise in stocks above key moving averages, notably the 20-day SMA (from 35.2% on Apr 22 to 74.3% on Apr 24).

• New highs (NH) have ticked up slightly, while new lows (NL) have remained minimal.

• Advancers over the week now dominate (86.7% Adv Week on Apr 24)—a sharp reversal from the weakness seen early in the week.

→ This suggests a rapid shift in momentum from a corrective phase toward renewed bullish strength.

3. Mid-Term Trend Signals (Month and Quarter)

Despite short-term strength, monthly and 3-month metrics remain bearish:

• Adv Month sits at just 25.6%, while Decl Month is at 73.9%.

• Adv 3 Month is even lower at 25.3%, indicating limited medium-term participation in the current uptrend.

• Decl 3 Month still dominates at 74%.

→ This indicates that the recent rally is still in recovery mode, and while the bounce is strong, many stocks are still below key levels on longer timeframes.

4. April 21 – A Turning Point?

April 21 marked a notable washout:

• Only 18.6% of stocks advanced.

• 79.8% declined.

• Decliners >4% (6.4%) far outpaced advancers >4% (2.7%).

→ Since then, the breadth data flipped dramatically bullish. That capitulation-like reading may have signaled a short-term bottom.

5. Conclusion

The breadth indicators show a short-term bullish reversal with improving participation and strong daily advances. However, longer-term breadth metrics remain weak, suggesting that the rally may still be a rebound within a broader consolidation or correction phase.

Key signals to watch going forward:

• Can the % of stocks above 50/100/200-day SMAs continue rising?

• Will the monthly and 3-month advancers follow through and begin to outpace decliners?

• Sustained new highs (NH) expansion would further validate the current bullish momentum.