Stocks climb as investors eye corporate earnings
| Symbol | Price | Change | %Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSFT | $435.26 | 40.00 | 10.12 |
| META | $582.27 | 33.27 | 6.06 |
Stocks are higher
on Thursday after strong AI-driven results from Microsoft and Meta reassured investors and helped boost Wall Street’s main indexes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed more than 200 points, or 0.5%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up 0.8% and 1.6%, respectively.
Microsoft forecast stronger-than-expected quarterly growth for its cloud-computing business Azure. Meta Platforms posted higher-than-expected revenue on the back of a strong advertising performance.
Stocks closed mixed on Wednesday after new data showed the economy contracted for the first time since in three years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 141.74 points, or 0.35%, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.15%. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.09%.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its advance estimate for first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) on Wednesday morning, which found the U.S. economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.3% in the first quarter, which runs from January through March.