S&P and Dow on monitor to a file shut. Dell earnings after the shut

All three major indices are now positive on the day. The gains are led by the S&P index which is up 0.41%. The NASDAQ index is up 0.39%. The Dow industrial average which was down by as much as -309.91 points is now back in positive territory with a gain of 59.23 points or 0.13%.

Both the S&P and the Dow industrial average are on pace for record closes. For the Dow industrial average, it closed at a record level yesterday so anything positive today, would be a new record.

For the S&P index it’s all time high close was reached on November 11 at 6001.35. The current index is trading at 6012 up 25 points or 0.41%.

The NASDAQ index is trading up 73 points or 0.39% at 19128. It’s all time high closing level was at 19298.76 also reached on November. 11.

The Russell 2000 is trading down -20.69 points or -0.85% at 2421.35. Yesterday the index closed at 2442.03. That was just short of its all-time high close of 2442.74 reached back in November 2021.

Some big winners today include:

• Microsoft, +2.01%
• Amazon, +2.69%
• Meta , +1.21%
• Oracle, +1.26%
• Alphabet, +1.08%
• Novo Nordisk +1.38%
• Walmart +2.56%
• Salesforce, +1.0%
• Palo Alto networks+2.66%

Dell will announce its earnings after the close. Its shares are currently down $2.95 or -2.05% at $141.37. Shares of Dell are up around 85% this year.

Dell EPS is expected at $2.06 on Revenues of $24.67B. That compares to $1.88 (+9.04%) on revenues of $22.25B (10.8%). Earnings have been expectations in 10 straight quarters. Revenues they been expectations on eight of the last 10 quarters.

Key Items to Watch: Dell’s AI Growth Momentum

• Dell emphasizes AI growth as a critical focus, mirroring industry trends.
• AI-optimized server demand reached $3.2 billion in Q2, a 23% increase from Q1.
• Backlog for AI-optimized servers stood at $3.8 billion at the end of Q2.
• Dell’s pipeline for AI solutions has expanded to multiples of its backlog, signaling strong future demand.

Shares of Dell peaked at $179.80 on the day before its earnings announcement on May 30, 2024. The price gap lower the next day opening at $143.80. The price stepped lower from there bottoming on August 7 at a low of $86.93 before starting its rebound back to the upside.

Recently, Dell’s shares have benefited from the turmoil from Super Micro Computer as they struggled with accounting issues