Stock markets took the beating from the not-so-impressive performance by technology companies this week, thanks to the virus-related uncertainty and the spike in new cases that resulted in fresh curbs in many regions including Europe.

Among the top tech firms, Apple (AAPL) on Thursday disappointed the market by reporting a double-digit fall in the sales of iPhone and withholding the guidance. The sell-off that followed the report spilled over to other technology stocks, including Facebook (FB) that issued a cautious full-year outlook.

The sentiment was also hurt by the continuing impasse over the stimulus package, which suffered a new setback after lawmakers suspended the talks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average extended the recent weakness and lost about 5% this week, shedding 86 points since the last session. Similarly, S&P 500 has dropped to 3,293.59 from 3,429.90 at the beginning of the week.

Meanwhile, it was a busy week for the corporate world, with some of the top companies publishing their latest quarterly reports. It was technology all along and the spotlight was on FAANG components Facebook, Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL) and Apple. Others that reported earnings this week include Microsoft (MSFT), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Boeing (BA), Mastercard (MA) and Visa (V).

After the hectic week, the earnings scene is getting leaner. The important firms reporting next week include PayPal (PYPL), with an earnings release scheduled for November 2, 2020. On Tuesday, Fox (FOXA) and healthcare firm Humana (HUM) are expected to unveil their quarterly numbers. Thursday will be a busy day as usual and Cigna (CI) and T-Mobile are among those reporting on that day.

Key Earnings to Watch

Monday: Estee Lauder, Clorox, Loews Corp., Mondelez International, PayPal, Jones Lang Lasalle, and Wingstop

Tuesday: Wayfair, Fox Corp, Ferrari, Humana, Emerson Electric, Ingersoll-Rand, Gartner, and Trivago

Wednesday: Qualcomm, Bayerische Motoren Werke, Expedia, Marks & Spencer, Upwork, The Wendy’s and Zynga

Thursday: Square, Alibaba, Dropbox, Discovery Communications, Eventbrite, General Motors, GoPro, HubSpot, Metlife, Cloudflare, Roku, T-Mobile, Uber Technologies, and Cigna Corp

Friday: Goldman Sachs, Marriott International, The Hershey Company, Malibu Boats, Trip Advisor, and ViacomCBS

Key Corporate Conferences to Watch

Key Investor Days/AGMs to Watch

Key US Economic Events

Looking Back

The following are notable companies which have reported their earnings last week. In case if you have missed to catch up on their performance, click the respective links to skim through the transcripts to glean more insights.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Pfizer (PFE)
Boeing (BA)
Apple (AAPL)
Facebook (FB)
Alphabet (GOOG)
Twitter (TWTR)
Amazon (AMZN)
Starbucks (SBUX)

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