U.S. equities are surging higher on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve begins its two-day policy meeting. Despite the fact that another interest rate hike is all but assured — which would be the second tightening move of this cycle — investors could hardly care less as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes in on the 20,000 threshold.
A melt up is clearly underway as the major stock averages further extend from trend measures, such as the 50-day moving average and investors piling into areas of momentum.
The latest surge has been driven by a bid for large-cap technology stocks, an area of the market that initially lagged the market’s post-election surge. But now — with interest in areas like industrials, energy and materials waning somewhat — the largest push by the bulls is focusing on old-time momentum favorites in the space.
Here are seven big names in the area on the move.
Big Tech Stocks: Facebook (FB)
Click to Enlarge Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) shares are rising to the upper end of their two-month consolidation range and have retaken the 200-day moving average. This after testing support near $114, levels last seen in July, not once but twice over the past two months.
Despite solid user metrics, investors had grown concerned about bad publicity including the rise of “fake news” and allegations of censorship. But Canaccord analysts defended the stock in a note earlier this month, citing what they call a “multi-faceted” growth story.
The company will next report results on Jan. 25 after the close. Analysts are looking for earnings of $1.30 per share on revenues of $8.5 billion.
Big Tech Stocks: Microsoft (MSFT)
Click to Enlarge Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares are pushing to new highs on Tuesday, moving above the $63-a-share level and breaking above uptrend resistance.
The stock has gone parabolic as investors have cheered the company’s growing cloud computing business, its LinkedIn acquisition, and success in the software-as-a-service model.
The company will next report results on Jan. 26 after the close. Analysts are looking for earnings of 78 cents per share on revenues of $25.2 billion.
Big Tech Stocks: Alphabet (GOOGL)
Click to Enlarge Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares are rising to challenge five-month highs near $840 on Tuesday and moving away from the $800 level first reached in late 2015.
The company’s efforts in new technologies — which justified the company’s name change — continue to gain traction in areas like autonomous vehicles, virtual reality and machine learning. In fact, the company’s self-driving project will reportedly be spun out into a separate business called Waymo.
The company will next report results on Jan. 26 after the close. Analysts are looking for earnings of $9.62 per share on revenues of $25.2 billion.
Big Tech Stocks: Apple (AAPL)
Click to Enlarge Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares are rising to challenge their pre-election October highs near $117.50. Shares suffered a steep decline in October and November — resulting in a 171% gain in the Nov $110 AAPL puts for Edge Pro subscribers — on concerns over tepid demand for the iPhone 7 and its missing headphone jack.
China sales have also been soft. But now optimism is building over next year’s 10th-anniversary iPhone 8 launch, which is expected to feature a glass form factor for the first time since 2014.
The company will next report results on Jan. 24 after the close. Analysts are looking for earnings of $3.23 per share on revenues of $77.1 billion.
Big Tech Stocks: Amazon (AMZN)
Click to Enlarge Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares are rising to the upper end of its two-month trading range and look ready for a breakout above its 50-day moving average. Overhead resistance near $800 looms, however.
Investors have been lukewarm toward the stock since October as profitability narrowed despite 29% year-over-year revenue growth amid aggressive investment spending. That looks to be changing now, however, as the holiday shopping season ramps up and confirms the company’s growing retail dominance.
The company will next report results on Jan. 26 after the close. Analysts are looking for earnings of $1.43 per share on revenues of $44.7 billion.
Big Tech Stocks: IBM (IBM)
Click to Enlarge International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) shares are pushing to fresh highs on Tuesday, flirting with the $170-a-share level for the first time since late 2014. This represents a 50% rise from the lows seen earlier this year.
Optimism has been driven by a batch of better-than-expected earnings reports despite flat top-line growth. There have been a couple of analyst upgrades as well, from Bank of America Merrill Lynch in November and Societe Generale in September.
The company will next report results on Jan. 19 after the close. Analysts are looking for earnings of $4.89 per share on revenues of $21.75 billion.
Big Tech Stocks: Intel (INTC)
Click to Enlarge Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) shares are surging higher on Tuesday, closing in on its October highs. Investors have recently shifted focus away from tepid PC demand into new areas of growth including the company’s efforts in AI, cloud computing and autonomous transportation.
In fact, company CEO Brian Krzanich gave the keynote address at the LA Auto Show’s AutoMobility conference, announcing a $250 million investment commitment over the next two years in self-driving technologies.
The company will next report results on Jan. 26 after the close. Analysts are looking for earnings of 74 cents per share on revenues of $15.74 billion.
Anthony Mirhaydari is founder of the Edge and Edge Pro investment advisory newsletters. A two-week and four-week free trial offer has been extended to InvestorPlace readers.
