The Federal Reserve held its target range on October 28. SPY and QQQ finished that regular session higher, but the separately recorded October 29 premarket picture split: SPY was slightly lower, QQQ was down about 1%, and IWM edged higher. Alphabet and ServiceNow were sharply lower; Microsoft was higher. These are dated observations, not live prices or completed daily candles.
SPY: near its 50-day average
SPY closed October 28 at $772.31. The recorded premarket print was $770.01, down 0.29% from that close. The completed close sat above the 50-day average at $767.63 and the 200-day at $728.15. A regular-session close below the 50-day line would bring the October 23 intraday low at $758.68 into view as a dated reference; the October 6 intraday high at $781.62 marks the upper side of this range.
QQQ: an early print below its 50-day line
QQQ closed at $725.61, just above its 50-day average of $725.42. The recorded premarket print was $717.51, below that average. A daily close back above the average would be stronger evidence than a premarket print. The October 23 intraday low at $701.16 is the lower dated marker; the October 6 intraday high at $762.86 shows how much of the earlier decline remains unrecovered.
IWM: between its two averages
IWM closed at $281.29 and the recorded premarket print was $282.33. Its completed close was below the 50-day average at $285.00 and above the 200-day at $278.53. The October 16 intraday low at $269.88 remains a lower range reference. A daily close above the 50-day or below the 200-day would change that in-between position.
Alphabet: price and cash tell different parts of the story
GOOGL closed at $324.89; the recorded premarket print was $290.31, down 10.64%. That early print was below its 50-day and 200-day averages, $341.51 and $341.20, and below the October 26 intraday low at $316.60. Regular-session trading will establish whether any of those older levels are reclaimed.
Alphabet reported quarterly revenue of about $127.6 billion, including about $30.7 billion from Google Cloud. Operating cash flow was about $42.3 billion, while purchases of property and equipment were about $51.4 billion. Alphabet's own free cash flow measure was negative by about $9.1 billion for the quarter. The premarket move alone does not identify which part of the report investors weighed most.
Microsoft: higher, but still below an old high
MSFT closed at $531.01. The recorded premarket print was $545.57, up 2.74%, below the October 13 intraday high at $551.15. Its completed close was above the 50-day and 200-day averages, $511.18 and $437.32. A daily close above the dated high would carry more weight than the early print.
Microsoft reported fiscal first-quarter revenue of about $92.3 billion and Microsoft Cloud revenue of about $63.9 billion. Cash additions to property and equipment were about $39.4 billion; GAAP diluted earnings per share were $4.92. These measures use different definitions from Alphabet's and should not be ranked using one raw pair of numbers.
ServiceNow: a large early gap below recent levels
NOW closed at $150.13. The recorded premarket print was $121.50, down 19.07%, below the 50-day average at $139.53 and October 2 intraday low at $133.47. Its 200-day average was $115.28. The first regular-session close after the gap will be more informative than the early print.
ServiceNow reported about $4 billion in subscription revenue. GAAP operating margin was 9.5%; adjusted operating margin was 32.5%. These are different accounting measures. It also reported about $822 million of free cash flow under its non-GAAP definition.
What to watch
The key test is where the regular session closes against these dated levels. Charts use completed daily candles and share volume through October 28, with premarket observations marked separately. The right-side volume-by-price display is an estimate from a limited BATS sample. It does not show who bought or sold, and no level is a forecast.
Sources: Federal Reserve statement, Alphabet results, Microsoft results, ServiceNow results. Watch the full video and browse Daily Levels.
Market research only, not a recommendation to buy or sell.