Thursday Watchlist Puts U.S. GDP, Inflation and Tech Earnings in Focus

A Thursday market watchlist put technology earnings alongside fresh U.S. growth and inflation readings, with third-quarter GDP accelerating to a 3.4% annualized rate and core PCE inflation remaining above the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal.

The watchlist appeared at 9:13 a.m. ET (13:13 UTC) on Oct. 29. It covered technology companies and corporate earnings, including results from Alphabet, Microsoft and Fortinet.

The Federal Open Market Committee held its target range for the federal funds rate at 3.75% to 4% on Wednesday. The committee’s vote was 10-2, with two members preferring a quarter-point increase.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) estimated that real gross domestic product grew at a 3.4% annualized rate in the third quarter, compared with 2.2% in the second quarter. The estimate was released at 8:30 a.m. ET (12:30 UTC) Thursday.

September’s personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.5% from August and 3.6% from a year earlier. The core index, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.3% month over month and 3.1% year over year. Both annual inflation rates were above the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, Alphabet’s revenue reached $127.577 billion, up 25% from a year earlier. Google Search and other revenue rose 12% to $63.35 billion, while Google Cloud revenue climbed 103% to $30.709 billion.

Microsoft’s Azure revenue grew 48% year over year for the quarter ended Sept. 30. Fortinet’s revenue rose 20% to $2.08 billion, product revenue increased 37% to $765 million, and billings climbed 29% to $2.34 billion.