Stock Market Update | Dow, S&P 500, NASDAQ News – May 01, 2025 at 03:03 PM

The stock market on the first day of May experienced a surge due to better-than-expected Q1 reports from Meta Platforms and Microsoft. The Nasdaq led the rise with a gain of more than 2%. However, McDonald’s reported lower quarterly earnings and experienced its steepest U.S. same-store sales decline since the Covid pandemic’s onset in 2020.

Cloud infrastructure supplier CoreWeave saw its shares close up 7% as Microsoft reaffirmed its cloud sales and spending plan for the new fiscal year. CoreWeave’s stock is now trading around $45, which is $5 above its initial public offering.

Pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly, posted better than expected Q1 earnings, but its partnership announcement with CVS Health caused its shares to fall. The shares dropped by more than 10% as investors are concerned about potential market share and pricing risks brought on by this new partnership.

Multiple companies experienced stock shifts in midday trading. Key movers included Meta Platforms whose shares jumped 4% following strong earning reports, and Qualcomm, which fell nearly 8% due to a lower than anticipated revenue forecast for its current quarter. Eli Lilly also decreased by 10% after revising down its full-year profit forecast.

In contrast, Microsoft’s shares rose by 9% following its positive Q3 earnings beat. The tech giant’s robust results were mainly derived from its Azure cloud business. Despite the current shifts in the market, investors are cautioned not to assume that all tech companies will follow the same trends.

The stock market today had drastic fluctuations due to several influencing factors. Firstly, on the positive side, Dominion Energy, a major provider of electricity in northern Virginia, witnessed a roughly 1% increase in its shares following their firm assertion that the demand for data centers shows no signs of slowing down. They also maintained their full-year operating earnings guidance of $3.28 to $3.52 per share.

In the gaming industry, Microsoft announced a price increase for its Xbox consoles and some controllers due to adverse market conditions, potentially instigated by tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. Nintendo and Sony have also announced similar changes previously.

Amazon’s first-quarter earnings are expected to be announced after the market closes, with analysts predicting an EPS of $1.36 and revenue of $155.04 billion. The performance is expected to be affected by Trump’s 145% tariff levy on China.

However, Apple has been discreet on the impending tariffs. Analysts expect the company to signal $89 billion in sales in the June quarter. Tariffs might have worked in their favor as customers stocked up on iPhones and other products, potentially raising their revenue to $94.68 billion.

Spin purgatory, a phenomenon referring to companies with spinoff plans seeing their stocks lag, has also been witnessed. DuPont saw a 16% decrease in its stocks following a fluctuation after the tariff announcement. Honeywell shares went through similar fluctuation.

Overall, the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq showed variable numbers due to the earnings reports, price hikes, tariff implementations, and spinoff plans from major companies such as Dominion Energy, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, DuPont, and Honeywell. The market response showcases the strong influence these entities have on overall market behavior.