Positive earnings from Meta Platforms helped push tech stocks higher on Thursday.
To end the day at 33,826.16, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 524.29 points or 1.57%. The S&P 500 gained 1.96 percent, bringing it to a final price of 4,135.35 while the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.43 percent, closing at 12,142.24. The Dow and S&P 500 both had their greatest day since January, and the Nasdaq had its best day since March.
The Meta share price increased by 13.9% after the business announced quarterly revenue that exceeded expectations and provided an optimistic outlook. After the report’s dissemination, the price estimates of several analysts were raised. Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Apple were among the major IT giants whose stocks rose.
“The market was holding its breath for Big Tech,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial. “It hasn’t let anyone down, and the market desperately needed that.”
GDP data came in lower
Although GDP data came in lower than expected, stocks still managed to rise, leading some to speculate that the Federal Reserve may soon end it’s tightening campaign. Next Monday, the Federal Reserve is expected to make its newest policy decision.
While economists polled by Dow Jones had predicted a 2% expansion for the first quarter, the actual growth rate was 1.1%. Inflation was also higher than projected, coming in at 4% versus the 3.7% predicted by economists.
Industrial bellwether Honeywell gained more than 4% after posting quarterly results that were above Wall Street’s expectations. Other firms that saw their stock prices rise after reporting earnings were Teladoc and Comcast.
Another economic indicator, Caterpillar, had its share price drop by about 0.9% on concerns that rising inventories signal a decline in consumer spending.
While the Dow and S&P 500 are hovering around their flat lines for the week so far, the Nasdaq has gained 0.6%. The Dow and S&P 500 both increased by 1.7% since the beginning of April, while the Nasdaq gained only 0.6%.
