Big Techs Carry Markets Higher on Better GDP Figures
October 29,2020 10:34 am EST
Stocks rose slightly on Thursday as shares of major tech companies advanced ahead of their quarterly earnings reports. Sentiment also got a lift from better-than-expected economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 33.3 points to 26,553.25,
The S&P 500 increased 22.52 points to 3,293.55,
The NASDAQ jumped 120.44 points, or 1.1%, to 11,125.11.
Thursday''s moves came a day after the market''s biggest selloff in months. Both the Dow and S&P 500 had their worst day on Wednesday since June. The NASDAQ had its biggest one-day drop since Sept. 8.
Shares of Amazon jumped 1.1%, and Apple was up by 2.3%. Alphabet climbed more than 2% and Facebook popped 4.3%. All four companies are slated to report earnings after the bell Thursday.
More than 270 S&P 500 companies have reported calendar third-quarter earnings thus far. Of those companies, 85% have reported better-than-expected earnings. Despite the high beat rate, several stocks have fallen after releasing their quarterly results.
U.S. gross domestic product for the third quarter expanded at a 33.1% annualized pace, its fastest growth ever. The reading came after a 31.4% plunge in the second quarter and was better than the 32% estimate from economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
Meanwhile, the number of first-time unemployment-benefits filers declined for a second straight week and hit its lowest level since March. Initial weekly U.S. jobless claims came in at 751,000 for the week ending Oct. 24, better than a Dow Jones estimate of 778,000.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury fell, raising yields to 0.78% from Wednesday''s 0.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $1.75 at $35.64 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $9.10 to $1,878.30
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