The Nasdaq composite rose Thursday as fourth-quarter gross domestic product came in above expectations, and investors were parsing. The latest batch of corporate earnings.
The tech-heavy index rose 0.9%, while the Dow Jones industrial average traded flat. The S&P 500 rose 0.45%.
GDP Data released on Thursday showed the economy expanding at an annual rate 2.9% in the fourth quarter., the Commerce Department said. That’s higher than the Dow Jones estimate of 2.8%, but represents a slight cooldown from the third quarter.
“With today’s better-than-expected GDP, I think investors are thinking that maybe we’re going to get out of a pretty smooth, mild recession that’s not likely to push us into an even deeper bear market when it’s all said and done.” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.
Meanwhile, the earnings season was strong Tesla’s results Given the Nasdaq Electric vehicle stocks boost. Tesla Up 9% since posting Recorded revenue and fixed revenue. Defeated tech giants Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Alphabet each added more than 1%.
Airline earnings also emerged The Southwest falls larger than expected Loss Its holiday was triggered by a meltdown. American Airlines rose on the fourth quarter beat.
Elsewhere, Chevron 3% added after declaration a A $75 billion share buyback plan.
Wall Street is coming off a mixed session, but all major averages are headed for weekly and monthly gains. So far this week, the Dow and S&P are up 1.5% and 1.9%, respectively. The Nasdaq rose 3.1% this week and had its best month since July.
Attention now shifts to next week’s Federal Reserve policy, where the central bank is widely expected to announce a 25 basis point hike as it battles high inflation. Investors will be looking for clues as to how much more the central bank wants to raise before cutting interest rates.
