U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday in a volatile trading session as investors digested earnings reports from a spate of big tech companies and weighed President Donald Trump’s tariff plans. All three major indexes ended in positive territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.4% or 168.61 points, to close at 44,882.13 points. The blue-chip index is now just 0.3% away from its record close on Dec. 4.
The S&P 500 gained 0.5% or 31.86 points, to end at 6,071.17 points. Real estate, utilities, consumer discretionary and consumer staples stocks were the biggest gainers.
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) added 2.1%, while the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) rose up 1.3%. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) and Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) gained 1% each. All the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.3% or 49.43 points to finish at 19,681.75 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 4.35% to 15.84. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 4.1-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 2-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues. A total of 13.79 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 15.4 billion.
Thursday saw volatile trading, with stocks giving up some of the gains late in the session after Trump said he would impose a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada, two of the U.S.’ major trading partners. He also said that the tariffs could take effect as early as Feb. 1.
Trump’s tariff plans and their impact on the nation’s economy have been keeping investors on the edge that has seen markets turn volatile lately. Thursday was no different.
Investors also digested a spate of mixed earnings reports from some of the big tech companies. Shares of Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) dropped 6.2% after the company gave a weak forecast for its cloud computing business.
However, shares of Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) rose 2.9% despite the company missing on both earnings and revenues. The electric vehicle maker reported earnings of $0.73 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.75 per share. The company posted revenues of $25.71 billion for the quarter ended December 2024, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.53%.
Shares of International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) jumped 13% after the company reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings of $3.92 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.73 per share. IBM has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Markets are coming off a losing session after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at the end of its two-day January policy meeting on Wednesday. On Thursday, investors took a cautious approach toward buying after data showed the U.S. GDP grew just 2.3% in the fourth quarter, slower than the previous quarter.
The Labor Department reported on Thursday that jobless claims totaled 207,000 for the week ending Jan. 25, decreasing 16,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 223,000. The four-week moving average was 212,500, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 213,500.
Continuing claims came in at 1,858,000, a decrease of 42,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,900,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,872,000 an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised average of 1,866,000.
In other economic data, the National Association of Realtors said on Thursday that its Pending Home Sales Index dropped to 74.2, a decline of 5.5% in December from a downwardly revised 78.5 in November.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.