Stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session on Thursday, with the major averages all showing significant moves to the upside after ending Wednesday’s trading mixed. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the advance, adding to yesterday’s gain.<\/p>\n
The major averages pulled back off their highs of the session going into the close but held on to strong gains. The Nasdaq soared 287.89 points or 2.4 percent to 12,142.24, the S&P 500 surged 79.36 points or 2.0 percent to 4,135.35 and the Dow jumped 524.29 points or 1.6 percent to 33,826.16.<\/p>\n
The rally on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META).<\/p>\n
Shares of Meta spiked by 13.9 percent after the company reported better than expected first quarter results and provided upbeat guidance for the current quarter.<\/p>\n
Media conglomerate Comcast (CMCSA) also moved sharply higher after reporting first quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.<\/p>\n
Big-name companies like eBay (EBAY), Honeywell (HON) and Eli Lilly (LLY) also posted strong gains after reporting their quarterly results.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a Commerce Department report showing U.S. economic growth slowed by much more than expected in the first three months of 2023.<\/p>\n
The report said real gross domestic product increased by 1.1 percent in the first quarter after jumping by 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022. Economists had expected the pace of GDP growth to slow to 2.0 percent.<\/p>\n
The Commerce Department said the slowdown in GDP growth primarily reflected a downturn in private inventory investment and a slowdown in non-residential fixed investment. <\/p>\n
The data may have added to optimism that the Federal Reserve is close to ending its tightening cycle ahead of next week’s monetary policy meeting.<\/p>\n
A separate report from the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly declined in the week ended April 22nd.<\/p>\n
The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 230,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 246,000.<\/p>\n
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 248,000 from the 245,000 originally reported for the previous week.<\/p>\n
Sector News<\/p>\n
Housing stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances on the day, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 3.1 percent to its best closing level in well over two months.<\/p>\n
The strength in the sector came despite the release of a report from the National Association of Realtors unexpectedly showing a steep drop in pending home sales in March.<\/p>\n
Substantial strength was also visible among transportation stocks, as reflected by the 2.6 percent surge by the Dow Jones Transportation Average. The average bounced off its lowest closing level in well over three months.<\/p>\n
Software stocks also moved sharply higher over the course of the session, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index jumping by 2.6 percent to an eight-month closing high<\/p>\n
Retail, steel and commercial real estate stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, moving higher along with most of other major sectors.<\/p>\n
Other Markets<\/p>\n
In overseas trading, stock markets<\/span> across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index edged up by 0.2 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed by 0.7 percent.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index closed just above the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index crept up by 0.2 percent.<\/p>\n In the bond market, treasuries moved sharply lower, extending the pullback seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, jumped 9.6 basis points to 3.528 percent.<\/p>\n Looking Ahead<\/p>\n Trading on Friday may be impacted by reaction to a report on U.S. personal income and spending, which includes a reading on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n On the earnings front, Amazon (AMZN), Intel (INTC), Amgen (AMGN), Capital One (COF), and Snap (SNAP) are among the companies releasing their quarterly results after the close of today’s trading.<\/p>\n Chevron (CVX), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Colgate-Palmolive (CL) and Newell Brands (NWL) are also among the companies due to report their results before the start of trading on Friday. <\/p>\n