Tech stocks got off to a good start Thursday morning. All three major U.S. stock indexes were up about 1% in the first few minutes of trading. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis has released its monthly report on personal income and outlays for December. Spending dropped by 0.6% (0.5% forecast) and income increased by 0.3% (0.5% forecast). The core PCE price index rose 0.5% month over month (0.5% forecast) and 4.9% year over year (4.8% forecast).
The tight labor market drove the employment cost index up by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, following a 1.3% increase in the third quarter. Year over year, the index rose 4.0%, the most in 20 years. In its quarterly earnings report released Friday morning, McDonald’s noted that higher labor and commodity costs more than offset sales growth in the quarter.
Markets responded by bouncing to near the break-even line in premarket trading. At the opening bell, the three major indexes broke in the red.
Tech stocks were leading all sectors with a gain of about 1.2% in early trading Friday, while real estate and energy stocks are trading down by 1.8% and 0.9%, respectively. Just four of 11 market sectors were trading in the green at the opening bell.
Here are the five tech stocks that were making the biggest moves Friday morning.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reported December-quarter results that beat analysts’ estimates for both earnings and revenues. Apple said it expects “solid” revenue growth but less than the 11.3% year-over-year growth rate in the December quarter. The current consensus estimate calls for year-over-year revenue growth of 0.07%. Shares traded up about 3%, at $163.90 in a 52-week range of $116.12 to $182.94.
Juniper Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR) traded up about 2.4% to $32.20, in a 52-week range of $23.12 to $36.03. The company beat earnings and revenue estimates late Thursday and issued guidance for the current quarter in line with expectations.
Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (NYSE: FIS) traded up by about 2.37% to $111.75, in a 52-week range of $101.79 to $155.96. The company announced a 21% dividend increase on Thursday.
Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) traded down 7.3% to $49.93, after setting a new 52-week low of $49.00. The 12-month high is $78.19. The hard drive and flash storage maker reported better-than-forecast earnings and revenue but issued downside guidance for the March quarter.
Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) traded down about 4.7%, at $114.38 in a 52-week range of $108.88 to $282.46. Solar stocks were almost all trading lower Friday morning, with residential installer Sunrun down about 6%. The question investors have to ask is whether homeowners will be interested in solar panels if inflation keeps rising.
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