S&P 500 and Nasdaq Hovered at Record Highs Supported by Earnings Optimism

Barry Adams
23 Apr, 2026
New York City

Stock market indexes in New York edged lower after scaling new record highs in the previous session. 

The S&P 500 Index decreased 0.4%, and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite declined 0.6% as investors reviewed the latest batch of earnings.  

Earnings so far have surpassed investor expectations, and investors reacted to the latest results from IBM, Tesla, ServiceNow. 

Earlier in the week, RTX, Boeing, General Electric, Danaher, 3M, and Five Below were among leading corporations to release their results.  

Later in the day, American Express, American Airlines, Blackstone, and Honeywell are scheduled to release their quarterly updates. 

The price of a barrel of crude oil in New York jumped 1.4% to $94.45 amid lingering tensions in the Persian Gulf and a growing speculation that the U.S. is preparing for a ground invasion of Iran as early as next month. 

 

Stock Movers

IBM dropped 7 % to $233.19 after the technology company reported better than expected quarterly results, but the company retained its annual outlook supporting worries of slower revenue growth. 

ServiceNow plunged 13 % to $89.25 after the cloud computing services provider reported weaker-than-expected subscription revenue growth. 

Moreover, the company's full-year subscription revenue growth estimate fell short of market expectations.  

Tesla Inc. declined 3,3 % after the electric vehicle maker reported adjusted earnings per share of 41 cents for its latest quarter. 

Revenue rose 16% to $22.4 billion, net income advanced 17% to $477 million from $409 million, and diluted earnings per share edged up to 13 cents from 12 cents a year ago. 

The quarterly performance was driven by higher automotive unit sales and a rise in service-related revenue. 

Nokia Oyj jumped 11 % to $10.98 after the technology company reported its first quarter results. 

Revenue increased 2% to Є4.5 billion from Є4.4 billion, net income swung to a profit of Є87 million from a loss of Є60 million, and diluted income per share swung to a profit of 2 cents from a loss of 1 cent. 

On a comparable basis, net income advanced to Є295 million from Є153 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to 5 cents from 3 cents a year ago. 

L'Oréal soared 8,5 % to €372,75 after the cosmetic company reported its first quarter sales results. 

Sales in the first quarter  rose 3.6% to €12.15 billion, and advanced 7.6% on a comparable basis, driven by a broad advance across all regions. 

Ecommerce sales rose by double digits in emerging markets and Europe.