Wall St Week Ahead-Stakes are high as megacap companies highlight big earnings week

Nearly 180 companies in the S&P 500, worth roughly half of the benchmark index's market value, are due to report results next week. They include the four biggest U.S. companies by market capitalization: Apple AAPL.O, Microsoft MSFT.O, Amazon AMZN.O and Google parent Alphabet GOOGL.O.

NEW YORK:Investors are hoping a flood of U.S. quarterly reports next week, including those from megacap growth titans, will confirm a solid profit outlook for corporate America and bolster the case for stocks after a rocky start to the year.

Nearly 180 companies in the S&P 500, worth roughly half of the benchmark index's market value, are due to report results next week. They include the four biggest U.S. companies by market capitalization: Apple AAPL.O, Microsoft MSFT.O, Amazon AMZN.O and Google parent Alphabet GOOGL.O.