Record rally on Wall Street | More Trump tariffs? | Musk’s victory lap

It looks like we've avoided a so-called earnings recession and stocks are at all-time highs as a result.

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE TUE, APR 23, 2019 EVENING BRIEF AS OF TUE, APR 23, 2019 • 04:00 ET DJIA 26656.66 +0.55% +145.61 S&P 500 2933.64 +0.88% +25.67 NASDAQ 8120.82 +1.32% +105.56   Most Active DOW NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAPL 207.48 +2.95 +1.44% KO 48.20 +0.80 +1.69% MSFT 125.44 +1.68 +1.36% S&P 500 NAME LAST CHG %CHG TWTR 39.76 +5.37 +15.62% QCOM 86.72 +4.75 +5.79% AMD 27.97 -0.21 -0.75% NASDAQ NAME LAST CHG %CHG QCOM 86.72 +4.75 +5.79% AMD 27.97 -0.21 -0.75% SIRI 6.15 +0.03 +0.49%   EDITOR'S NOTE The worst may be over when it comes to pessimistic earnings estimates, which is giving markets some newfound confidence. Companies slashing their profit forecasts had been a key reason why stocks tanked in December. As corporations tempered expectations for early 2019, investors had largely expected two straight quarters of negative earnings growth known as an "earnings recession." But it looks like that much-feared event has been avoided, as the chart below lays out. Between March and April, earnings forecasts turned positive for the second quarter at 0.4% growth, according to data from RBC Capital Markets. The bank's head of U.S. equity strategy, Lori Calvasina, said that January "remains the low point for growth." Expectations are still pretty much flat for this quarter. But Calvasina underlined that generally, companies are describing the economy and their customer bases as "pretty healthy and solid" during corporate earnings calls.  Kate Rooney | CNBC Markets Reporter @Kr00ney TOP NEWS  S&P 500 rallies to new record close after strong earnings from broad range of companies Trump vows to 'reciprocate' against EU tariffs after Harley reports nearly 27% drop in profit Oil jumps to nearly 6-month high on Trump's Iran crackdown Elon Musk sent a two-line email telling employees how great Tesla's autonomy day was, but the plan has lots of holes The Fed's key interest rate keeps climbing higher, and that could become a problem Twitter stock surges more than 15% on earnings beat Coca-Cola shares jump 3% after earnings beat, as shift from sugary drinks boosts sales Cramer: Elon Musk is the P.T. Barnum of our time — call him 'P.T. Musk' Kohl's is going to accept Amazon returns in all of its stores across the country, starting in July Elizabeth Warren and 2020 Democrats want to erase student debt — here's how it could affect the economy   CNBC PRO Morgan Stanley's chief strategist Mike Wilson still sees an earnings recession this year     TOP VIDEO Cramer: Tesla's Elon Musk constantly creates a 'three-ring circus'   SPECIAL REPORTS Twitter is surging and the rally shows no signs of slowing, chart analyst says Why Tesla is such a battleground stock   Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy   © 2019 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS