Image Source: UnsplashMarket indexes could not hold onto earlier gains this afternoon, and all closed near session lows. The moves were mild, though — as we’ve stated in this space previously, the big news the market is waiting for is not here yet: Friday’s Jobs Report, next week’s Fed decision on interest rates, and, of course, the General Election six days from today.As a result, the Dow dipped -0.22%, or down -99 points. The S&P 500 was a little worse at -0.33%, -19 points on the day, and the Nasdaq — hot off finishing yesterday’s session at a new all-time high — closed down -104 points, -0.56%. The small-cap Russell 2000 looked to be holding onto gains, but slipped -0.23% at the end of the session.

Pending Home Sales Jump +7.4% Unexpectedly

The September read for Pending Home Sales earlier today was a surprise to the upside. Following a +0.6% print the previous month, this headline number jumped to +7.4%, the highest figure reported in six months. Existing Home Sales came out last week, and they were nothing to write home about, notching down to 3.84 million seasonally adjusted, annualized units from 3.88 million the prior week. 

Meta Beats Easily in Q3

Meta Platforms (META – Free Report), a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy)-rated stock coming into its Q3 earnings report Wednesday afternoon, did not disappoint investors: earnings of $6.03 per share cruised past the $5.19 in the Zacks consensus, on revenues of $40.59 billion, up +19% year over year.Daily Active People (DAP) grew +5% year over year to 3.29 billion, while the Average Price per Ad increased +11% year over year. The tech giant also expects increased capex spending in 2025. As a result, shares are down in late trading by -1.8%, after climbing more than +70% year to date.

Microsoft Rides Strong AI Business to Q1 Beats

Another of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” stocks reported this afternoon: Microsoft (MSFT – Free Report), which outpaced estimates on both top and bottom lines for its fiscal Q1. Earnings of $3.30 per share on $65.6 billion in revenues compares favorably with the $3.08 per share and $64.41 billion, respectively, in the Zacks consensus.Strong demand for ChatGPT accelerated the company’s AI business, while Commercial Cloud brought in $38.9 billion, ahead of the $38.1 billion estimate. Shares are up +3.5% in late trading, adding to its relatively paltry +16% year to date. 

Starbucks Meets Estimates in Q4

In the first earnings release under the term of ex-Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol, Starbucks (SBUX – Free Report) met estimates of 80 cents per share on revenues of $9.07 billion in the quarter. Global comps fell -7% overall in the quarter, led by China’s -14%. We expect Niccol to right the ship eventually, but for now Starbucks remains a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

What to Expect in the Stock Market Thursday

Aside from the PCE report and Weekly Jobless Claims tomorrow morning, we’ll also see another heap of earnings reports ahead of the bell, including Mastercard (MA – Free Report), Uber (UBER – Free Report), ConocoPhillips (COP – Free Report) and Bristol Meyers (BMY – Free Report) in the morning.After the close, the Mag 7 cavalcade of earnings continues: Apple (AAPL – Free Report) and Amazon (AMZN – Free Report) will be joined by companies like Intel (INTC – Free Report) and plenty of others.More By This Author:Alphabet, Visa, Reddit Up On Strong Earnings Numbers Reporting Companies Up Big In Late TradingTop Stock Reports For Costco, Coca-Cola & T-Mobile US