U. S. stocks performed well in the first quarter, and the first-quarter earnings season is likely to live up to investor expectations.

In the first quarter of this year, the s & p 500 hit 22 closing highs, up more than 10%. This is the 11th time that the index has risen more than 10% in the first quarter since 1950.

There are many factors that contribute to investor optimism, such as encouraging economic data, which prompt investors to improve.PokersignupbonusThere are expectations of corporate earnings, especially for soaring technology companies. Big banks will be the first to kick off the first-quarter earnings season this weekend, and some companies may underperform, but most are likely to live up to investors' expectations.

Analysts are optimistic about the performance of large technology companies. Jessica Rabe, co-founder of DataTrek Research, pointed out that with the exception of AAPL (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA), other technology companies in the "Big Seven" have raised their performance expectations, not only for the first quarter, but also for the whole of this year and next.

Labe pointed out that in the past 90 days, analysts have raised their first-quarter earnings per share forecasts for the "Big Seven" by 5%.Pokersignupbonus.5%, if Tesla is not included, this figure will be more than 10%. Analysts raised their earnings per share forecasts for the Big Seven by more than 3% in 2024 and 2025.

Labe pointed out that this is in sharp contrast to the overall earnings per share forecast for the s & p 500, where analysts cut their earnings per share forecast for the first quarter by about 2.7%, with expectations for this year and next basically unchanged.

"despite the rise in interest rates this year, the fundamentals of most big technology companies are much better than the overall fundamentals of the S & P 500," Labe said. "

Given that the "Big Seven" have risen by double digits so far this year (except Apple and Tesla), they are under pressure to hand over a beautiful report card.

But they-- and other big companies-- may be up to the task.

Chris Senyek of Wolfe Research points out that given factors such as rising oil prices and uncertainty about the timing of interest rate cuts, investors should be wary of what could happen next in the stock market than in the first quarter.

Nevertheless, Sayek believes that "unless the market begins to expect the future economy and earnings per share to be significantly lower than expected, the stock market will not continue to decline."

Wolf still expects the S & P 500 to earn $245 a share for the full year, slightly higher than the consensus market forecast of $244. Sayek expects "the company's performance and management guidance for the first quarter earnings season to be very robust."

Sayek also pointed out that in addition to technology companies, earnings forecasts for companies in the semiconductor, equipment, automotive, financial and consumer services sectors have also been raised, and cyclical stocks tend to lead gains when the economy accelerates.

DataTrek Research's Labe believes that as long as large technology stocks "continue to deliver satisfactory results, most of these stocks should continue to outperform the market and drive the S & P 500 higher because of their heavy weighting in the index." "We believe that even if interest rate volatility increases, investor confidence in the fundamentals of large technology stocks should continue to support them," Labe said. "

To paraphrase Lucy Maude Montgomery (Lucy Maud Montgomery), author of Anne of Green Gables, there seems to be nothing impossible this spring, which contains unending hope for the stock market, which has continued to rise this year.

/ tr. by Teresa Rivas

Editor | Guo Liqun

This article was first posted on the official account of Wechat: Barron Weekly. The content of the article belongs to the author's personal point of view and does not represent the position of Hexun. Investors operate accordingly, at their own risk.