US stocks bounce as Microsoft, Meta move in opposite directions
- S&P 500 gained 1.1% while Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 2.1%
Wall Street stocks rebounded Thursday, driven by mixed tech earnings from Microsoft and Meta, despite disappointing US economic growth and recent market pressures from Fed rates and oil prices.
- Microsoft and Meta's contrasting earnings performance.
- US economic growth falling short of analyst expectations.
- Factors influencing Wednesday's market retreat.
NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks rose early Thursday, bouncing back from the prior session’s sell-off as the market digested mixed economic data and earnings reports from Meta and Microsoft.
The tech giants moved in opposite directions in the early going, with Microsoft surging more than 14 percent following strong earnings while Meta tumbled nearly 10 percent amid questions over its costly artificial intelligence investments.
“Traders are still differentiating between companies,” said FHN Financial’s Chris Low. “It’s a healthy sign because it means it’s not just a pure momentum trade.”
About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.6 percent at 51,899.68.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.1 percent to 7,396.24, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 2.1 percent to 24,955.75.
The gains follow Wednesday’s retreat after US Treasury yields spiked in response to the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates flat. Stocks were also buffeted by a surge in oil prices due to escalations in the Middle East war.
Data showed that US economic growth came in at 1.5 percent in the second quarter, missing analyst expectations of around 2.0 percent and below the 2.1 percent level in the previous quarter.
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