What to watch

Alphabet looks to follow Facebook’s lead

Apple beat. Then Facebook crushed quarterly profit forecasts.

Now it’s Google parent Alphabet’s chance to turn heads on Wall Street, beat analysts’ profit forecast and push stock prices higher.

It often is said earnings are the fuel that feeds the stock market engine.

Well, to start, a better-than-expected earnings report from iPhone maker Apple after Tuesday’s market close pushed shares up 6.5% Wednesday.

Not to be outdone, social media giant Facebook crushed both its earnings and revenue forecasts after the bell Wednesday, pushing shares of Mark Zuckerberg’s company up more than 6% in after-hours trading.

Now it’s Alphabet’ chance to score the Wall Street version of a hat trick.

It delivers its quarterly earnings report Thursday.

There’s no denying that earnings beats from well-known U.S. companies and leading tech companies will go a long way toward reassuring investors that the global economy, even with its pockets of weakness, still is able to support the purchases of gadgets such as iPhones and digital advertisements on Facebook.