MW Here are 21 stocks to keep powering the tech rally, say these analysts.
By Barbara Kollmeyer
Look for retail investors to climb aboard the tech bandwagon, say strategists
E-commerce pet retailer Chewy makes the grade for Barclays' top tech picks.
Investors are just one sleep away from a big catalyst: earnings from Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta Platforms due after Wednesday's closing bell.
These results are crucial given tech has been leading the V-shaped bounce and helping drive a string of record highs since late March. Our call of the day from Barclays strategists led by Venu Krishna, sees tech momentum building as the bank's analysts flag the best-positioned names across sectors.
Krishna, head of U.S. equity strategy, and his team explain how big Wall Street investors have been driving that tech momentum. For example, they see CTAs - momentum-seeking funds trading futures contracts - continuing to add to tech positions. Asset managers with a longer-term focus will also keep redeploying cash into semiconductors SOX, which have been leading the bounce.
The fact that retail investors have been wary of the rally is paradoxically good news. Solid first-quarter results "could motivate some bullish capitulation" for those investors, said Krishna and his team.
As for the stocks they like, analysts led by Ross Sandler identify their favorites in the internet sector: heavyweights Amazon (AMZN) and Meta (META) alongside Brazil's Mercado Libre $(MELI)$ and Chewy $(CHWY)$. The analysts argue that "managed/heavily managed marketplaces," running their own inventory custody, fulfillment, returns, logistics with contracted drivers and couriers, "are the most defensible to AI disruption."
Next up is large-cap infrastructure software, where a team led by Raimo Lenschow view enterprise vendors as insulated from AI disruption, naming Oracle $(ORCL)$, DigitalOcean Holdings $(DOCN)$, Salesforce (CRM) and Snowflake (SNOW) as top picks.
The question for investors here is whether AI will prove a major growth opportunity for enterprise software or a structural risk. They see AI as an "additive force, not wholesale replacement, due to data gravity, embedded workflows, switching costs and security/compliance standards."
Next up, analysts led by Saket Kalia look at security, design and vertical software-as-a-service stocks. They see security platforms benefiting from more AI-borne attacks, flagging picks including Palo Alto Networks (PANW), CrowdStrike (CRWD) and Varonis $(VRNS)$.
They highlight companies that operate as "systems of record" for their clients, with years of proprietary data underpinning daily operations, as also more protected from AI disruption. Their clients include governments and pharma companies, who are usually conservative buyers of IT and less likely to experiment with vibe-coded alternatives. Cloudflare (NET) and Tyler Technologies $(TYL)$ are Barclays' top picks in this space.
The semiconductor sector is next up.
"If the entire group is pricing in real, sustained growth in this AI build out, then the large-cap names are severely undervalued," with Wall Street incorrectly pricing in peak capex by 2027 and 2028 that's around $225 billion too low, says the Tom O'Malley-led team. Volume opportunity should naturally flow first to Nvidia's ( NVDA) ecosystem and Broadcom's $(AVGO)$ custom silicon and networking portfolio, with those two heavyweights their top picks, alongside Credo Technology $(CRDO)$ and MACOM Technology Solutions $(MTSI)$.
Finally, Barclays looks at IT hardware and communications equipment, with analysts led by Tim Long discussing whether AI-exposed names are deserving of higher current multiples. Their picks are Arista Networks (ANET), Celestica $(CLS)$, Ciena $(CIEN)$ and Fabrinet (FN).
The markets
U.S. stock futures (ES00) (YM00) (NQ00) are mixed, with pressure on tech. Brent prices (BRN00) are above $110 a barrel on worries over U.S.-Iran negotiations. Gold (GC00) and silver (SI00) are lower.
Key asset performance Last 5d 1m YTD 1y S&P 500 7173.91 0.91% 13.09% 4.80% 29.76% Nasdaq Composite 24,887.10 1.98% 19.68% 7.08% 43.31% 10-year Treasury 4.359 6.00 4.10 18.70 17.80 Gold 4625.2 -2.39% -1.58% 6.76% 39.00% Oil 99.85 10.67% -1.66% 73.92% 66.03% Data: MarketWatch. Treasury yields change expressed in basis points
The buzz
U.S. officials have expressed skepticism over Iran's proposal to halt attacks on the Strait of Hormuz, in exchange for the U.S. stopping the war and postponing nuclear talks.
Coca-Cola $(KO)$ and General Motors $(GM)$ will report ahead of the open.
SoftBank shares (JP:9984) saw their worst day in six months after OpenAI reportedly missed internal revenue and user targets thanks to rising competition. U.S. tech companies also are lower.
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond $(BBBY)$ are surging after the retailer posted its first big sales gain in 19 quarters.
The S&P Case-Shiller home price index for February is due at 9 a.m., followed by April consumer confidence from the Conference Board.
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The chart
Daily Chartbook, a newsletter that looks at the most interesting charts of the day, has flagged this chart from market data and researcher Macro Charts, which shows rising volume in U.S. speculative options. "Animal spirits are back to 'Red Hot' - indicating an aggressive chase higher (one of the fastest speculative rushes in history)," said Daily Chartbook. Trading volume in extremely short-dated contracts tied to the S&P 500, such as zero days until expiration contracts (0DTE) boomed last year, particularly during the summer.
Top tickers
These were the top-searched stock-market tickers on MarketWatch as of 6 a.m.:
Ticker Security name NVDA Nvidia TSLA Tesla AMD Advanced Micro Devices GME GameStop AMZN Amazon TSM Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing MU Micron Technology INTC Intel MSFT Microsoft AAPL Apple
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-Barbara Kollmeyer
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April 28, 2026 07:03 ET (11:03 GMT)
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