Rallies for Microsoft and Meta Send Wall Street Higher
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street Thursday and are on track for more record highs amid rallies for big technology stocks.
The S&P 500 rose 0.8% and is on track to beat the record high it set on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 122 points, or 0.3% as of 9:59 a.m. Eastern. The technology-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.2% and is also on track for a record.
The technology sector did the heavy lifting for the broader market following results from big companies showcasing advancements in artificial intelligence.
Facebook and Instagram's parent company Meta Platforms surged 12.2% after it crushed Wall Street's sales and profit targets even as the company continues to pour billions into artificial intelligence.
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Microsoft jumped 4.4% after also posting better results than analysts expected. Microsoft also gave investors an encouraging update on its Azure cloud computing platform, which is a centerpiece of the company's artificial intelligence efforts.
Fellow technology giants Apple and Amazon will report their results after the closing bell.
Earnings remained a key focus outside of the technology sector in what has been a heavy week so far for corporate financial results. CVS Health jumped 6.2% after it topped Wall Street expectations for the second quarter and raised its full-year forecast again.
Wall Street is also monitoring the latest economic data, which included an update on inflation.
The Commerce Department said prices rose 2.6% in June compared with a year ago, as measured by the personal consumption expenditures index. That is slightly higher than economists expected and also marks an increase from an annual pace of 2.4% in May.
Results from another measure of inflation earlier this month, the consumer price index, also showed inflation rising in June.
Also on Thursday, a report showed that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits inched up last week.
The latest updates on inflation and the jobs market are landing amid lingering concerns about the impact of tariffs.
Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.35% from 4.37% late Wednesday. The yield on the two-year Treasury held steady at 3.94% from late Wednesday.
Markets were mostly mixed in Asia and Europe.
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