Two days this week are likely to dictate the direction of the US stock market for the remainder of the year.

On Wednesday and Thursday, five firms that account for about a quarter of the S&P 500 Index — Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. — will report their earnings. Beyond the glimpse into their businesses, ranging from cloud computing and e-commerce to electronic devices and digital advertising, investors will be focused on their outlooks for artificial intelligence development.