US close: Stocks higher as tech earnings remain in focus

(Sharecast News) - Major indices turned in a positive session on Thursday as market participants digested quarterly earnings from several big-name tech firms. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.38% at 44,882.13, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.53% to 6,071.17 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.25% firmer at 19,681.75.

The Dow closed 168.61 points higher on Thursday, reversing losses recorded in the previous session after the Federal Reserve Bank opted to keep its benchmark overnight interest rate unchanged following its two-day policy meeting, as expected.

In the corporate space, shares in Facebook parent company Meta Platforms traded higher after its Q4 numbers beat on both the top and bottom lines, while software giant Microsoft headed south after Azure cloud computing revenues narrowly missed consensus estimates and electric carmaker Tesla shares accelerated despite its Q4 results falling short of Wall Street expectations.

Elsewhere, trade bellwether Caterpillar was in the red after posting a Q4 revenue miss, while Comcast shares also traded lower on the back of declining broadband and cable TV subscriber numbers.

American Airlines was also in focus after one of its regional passenger jets collided with a United States Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington DC and crashed down into the Potomac River. All 67 people on board both aircraft are feared dead.

After the close, tech behemoth Apple said overall sales were up 4% in Q4 to $124.3bn, driving profits 7% higher year-on-year to $36.3bn, even as it said iPhone sales had slipped as its rollout of a number of new AI features seemingly failed to excite potential customers.

On the macro front, the US economy grew at a slower-than-expected clip in Q4, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which said its advance GDP estimate showed the economy expanded at an annualised rate of 2.3%, below the 2.6% increase expected by economists and the 3.1% growth seen in Q3. Consumer and government spending increases drove economic growth in the quarter, while decreases in investment offset gains. For the year as a whole, the US economy grew at 2.8% clip, slightly below the 2.9% number seen in 2023 but ahead of the 2.5% seen in 2022.

On another note, US jobless claims fell more than expected in the week ended 25 January, according to the Labor Department, marking a sharp pull-back from the previous week's two-month high. Initial jobless claims fell by 16,000 week-on-week to 207,000, well and truly missing expectations for a reading of 220,000. Continuing claims fell by 42,000 from the prior week's more than three-year high to 1.85m, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, was up by 6,000 at 1.87m.

Finally, US pending home sales fell 5.5% month-on-month in December, marking the first contraction since July. On an annualised basis, pending home sales decreased by 5% in December, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Also in focus, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dropped more than two basis points to 4.519% on Thursday, providing a tailwind for major indices.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $258.27 12.96% Boeing Co. (BA) $179.53 3.38% Nike Inc. (NKE) $78.33 2.29% Visa Inc. (V) $343.05 2.13% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $64.06 1.94% 3M Co. (MMM) $154.40 1.89% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $11.46 1.87% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $60.47 1.54% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $545.59 1.39% Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.01 1.32%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $414.99 -6.18% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $38.55 -6.09% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $374.98 -4.64% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $343.57 -2.95% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $39.47 -2.01% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $237.59 -0.74% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $249.15 -0.17% Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $290.30 0.07% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $113.43 0.21%

S&P 500 - Risers

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $258.27 12.96% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $80.73 7.43% Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) $606.72 6.78% Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $89.60 6.53% Waste Management Inc. (WM) $222.43 6.15% Parker-Hannifin Corp. (PH) $704.10 5.72% Quest Diagnostics (DGX) $164.17 5.62% Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $113.86 5.58% Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $8.66 5.48% VF Corp. (VFC) $26.93 5.36%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $108.39 -16.48% United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) $114.90 -14.11% Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $33.25 -11.00% CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) $100.44 -6.94% CIGNA Corp. (CI) $282.98 -6.70% Robert Half Inc. (RHI) $64.59 -6.59% Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $336.62 -6.32% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $414.99 -6.18% Avery Dennison Corp. (AVY) $182.49 -5.40% Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $54.29 -5.02%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $80.73 7.43% Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $218.99 7.40% Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $89.60 6.53% Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $23.11 5.82% Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $94.77 5.76% JD.com, Inc. (JD) $42.30 5.07% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $65.78 4.75% Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $215.66 4.51% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $742.43 4.13% NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $104.88 3.95%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $33.25 -11.00% Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $336.62 -6.32% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $414.99 -6.18% Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.36 -3.38% American Airlines Group (AAL) $16.90 -2.48% Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $260.07 -2.01% Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $11.55 -1.79% Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $11.75 -1.67% Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $55.16 -1.55% Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $98.28 -1.11%