This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

What you need to know today

Wall Street ends mixed
U.S. stocks closed mixed on Tuesday as Wall Street looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. The benchmark S&P 500 closed near the flatline, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.35% higher, marking its seventh record close this year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite retreated 0.76%.

Alphabet disappoints
Google parent Alphabet posted its fastest quarter of revenue growth since early 2022, with sales climbing 13% from $76.05 billion a year earlier. But its ad revenue missed analysts' estimates, which sent shares plunging in after hours trading.

Microsoft shines
Software giant Microsoft topped estimates as Azure cloud growth was stronger than expected. Microsoft's revenue increased 17.6% year over year in the quarter, which ended on Dec. 31. The company acquired video game publisher Activision Blizzard, its largest deal ever, during the quarter.

Judge voids Musk's pay package
A Delaware judge has voided the $56 billion pay package of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, ruling that the company's board of directors failed to prove "that the compensation plan was fair." Shares of Tesla tumbled more than 2% in extending trading.

[PRO] Bank stocks back on radar  
Investors need to overcome their fear of bank stocks created by last year's deposit outflows and regional bank failures, said Oppenheimer. Analyst Chris Kotowski, noted bank stocks are "significantly undervalued," adding even mid-size banks that struggled in 2023 could see their underlying business rebound.  

 

The bottom line

Tech giants Microsoft and Alphabet earnings both managed to beat top and bottom line estimates. Still, that wasn't good enough for Wall Street.  

Google parent Alphabet posted its fastest quarter for revenue growth since early 2022, with sales up 13% from $76.05 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share were $1.64, beating the consensus LSEG estimate of $1.59 a share.

But markets didn't seem impressed as investors sent the stock tumbling. Alphabet shares slid nearly 6% in extended trading on Tuesday. 

Part of the reason was the company's soft ad revenue, which came in at $65.52 billion — short of analysts' expectations for $65.94 billion, per StreetAccount. 

Software giant Microsoft also posted results that topped estimates but its outlook was a bit light.

Cloud growth came in stronger than expected as revenue from Azure and other cloud services rose 30% on a yearly basis. Microsoft now boasts 53,000 Azure AI customers, and one-third of them are new to Azure in the past year, CEO Satya Nadella said on the call.

Yet, Microsoft shares edged lower in after-hours trading despite the positive results. Perhaps, traders were doing a little profit taking.

Beyond earnings, the Fed's rate decision is also on the minds of investors. Wall Street will be looking for clues on shifts in the central bank's policy stance in its post-meeting statement and in Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks.

—CNBC's Jordan Novet and Ari Levy contributed to this report.