US stocks edged up on Thursday, with the S&P 500 eyeing a small comeback as investors digested megacap tech earnings and waited for Apple (AAPL) results for more clues on prospects for Big Tech.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) moved up roughly 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) added 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was little changed, in the wake of a losing day on Wall Street for the gauges.
After the Federal Reserve stood pat on interest rates as expected, investors have turned to parsing earnings reports — and in particular, the first wave of results from the “Magnificent Seven” companies that have driven broader stock market gains.
Faith in Big Tech was put to the test by results from Microsoft (MSFT), Meta (META), and Tesla (TSLA) late Wednesday. After DeepSeek’s cheaper AI model rattled assumptions about the likelihood of a payoff, the focus was on the rationale for their massive AI investments.
Tesla’s stock ticked higher despite an earnings miss as investors took on trust its vow to return to growth in 2025. Meanwhile, Meta’s quarterly earnings beat helped lift its shares, but Microsoft stock slumped after its cloud revenue fell short.
Next up is Apple (AAPL), whose stock has been hit by multiple downgrades. Investors will scrutinize its quarterly report after the bell for signs its iPhone sales are doing better than feared. Chipmaker Intel (INTC), Comcast (CMCSA), Mastercard (MA), and Visa (V) are also on the docket.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis’s advance estimate of fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) showed the US economy grew at an annualized pace of 2.3%, below the 2.6% expected by economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, a fatal collision between an American Airlines (AAL) passenger jet and a US army helicopter dominated headlines. The crash happened in midair as the plane approached Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night.
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