Benzinga examined the prospects for many investors’ favorite stocks over the last week — here’s a look at some of our top stories.
U.S. stocks extended their powerful April rally as cooling inflation concerns, resilient earnings and renewed enthusiasm around artificial intelligence pushed major indexes to fresh record highs. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite posted their strongest monthly gains since 2020, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also advanced sharply as investors looked past lingering geopolitical risks and focused on strong corporate performance. Market sentiment improved further after softer oil prices eased fears of another inflation spike tied to Middle East tensions.
Technology and semiconductor stocks remained the primary drivers of the rally, with chipmakers benefiting from continued optimism around AI infrastructure spending. Strong results and upbeat commentary from companies such as Alphabet and major semiconductor firms reinforced confidence that demand for AI computing power remains robust despite concerns earlier this year about excessive capital spending.
Even with the strong momentum, investors remain cautious ahead of another wave of earnings reports and key economic data, including the monthly jobs report and further inflation readings. Federal Reserve officials have continued signaling concern about inflation persistence, leading traders to reassess expectations for near-term rate cuts even as equity markets push higher.
Benzinga provides daily reports on the stocks most popular with investors. Here are a few of this past week’s most bullish and bearish posts that are worth another look.
The Bulls
“Apple Posts Double Beat In Q2 As Active Installed Base Hits All-Time High — ‘Our Best March Quarter Ever’,” by Adam Eckert, reports that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) delivered a fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue beat with EPS of $2.01 on revenue of $111.18 billion, both topping Wall Street estimates, as CEO Tim Cook called it the …
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