NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks mostly rose Thursday following better-than-expected US economic data and mixed earnings reports that lifted Tesla and pushed IBM lower.
US economic growth in the fourth quarter came in at 2.9 percent, above analyst estimates on resilient consumer spending.
While the report doesn’t remove fears of a recession, analysts said the data boosts hope for a “soft landing,” with Federal Reserve interest rates leading to lower inflation but not tipping the economy into a deep downturn.
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“The GDP number shows us that the consumer remains resilient,” said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments. “It also shows us the Fed is winning its battle against inflation and doing it in a way where inflation is coming down while GDP continues to grow.”
About 30 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2 percent at 33,674.98.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.2 percent at 4,023.96, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.7 percent to 11,390.36.
Among individual companies, Tesla rocketed 7.9 percent higher after reporting record quarterly earnings as CEO Elon Musk said recent price cuts in the United States and Europe had boosted demand.
But Dow member IBM slid 3.8 percent as it disclosed that it was cutting some 3,900 jobs related to businesses it has divested.
Another Dow member, Chevron advanced 2.7 percent after announcing a $75 billion share buyback.
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