© Reuters.

By Dhirendra Tripathi

Fxgecko.com -- Stocks wavered on Wednesday as falling U.S. bond yields lifted technology stocks but the broad S&P 500 lost steam heading into the closing bell. 

Better-than-expected earnings from Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)and Google’s Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL) set a positive tone. On Thursday, Apple and Amazon are due to report their numbers. 

Alphabet’s third-quarter earnings beat was driven by strong performance in its digital advertising search business, which was less vulnerable to privacy changes Apple made recently that dinged Snap (NYSE:SNAP).

Microsoft raised its fourth quarter guidance after topping expectations in its cloud business. Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), however, fell short of expectations and its stock tumbled.

The energy sector was under pressure with oil prices cooling off their recent highs. Oil major Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) PLC ADR (NYSE:RDSa) rose after reports that hedge fund activist Dan Loeb’s Third Point (NYSE:SPNT) had amassed a sizable stake in the shares and was pressing the company to break apart into a legacy carbon-based business and a growth-oriented renewable energy company.

A reading of gross domestic product for the third quarter will come out tomorrow. Here are three things that could affect markets:

1. Apple earnings

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) will report its fourth-quarter numbers Thursday. Revenue at the iPhone-maker is seen touching $84.85 with profit per share likely to be $1.23, according to analysts tracked by Fxgecko.com.

2, Amazon earnings

Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s third profit per share is seen at $8.91 on likely revenue of $111.62 billion. Analysts will be eager to hear the company’s outlook for the holiday season.

3. Mastercard earnings

Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA)’s third-quarter revenue is expected to come in at $4.95 billion, with EPS at $2.18.