Stocks opened with modest gains thanks in part to better than expected earnings from some high-profile companies. The averages were led by the Nasdaq, which zoomed ahead by more than 1.5% on the strength of Facebook (FB) after the social media giant’s report. Today marked the peak of the earnings season as more than 250 of the S&P 500’s companies have now reported. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., durable goods orders rose 2.6% in March, which topped the 1.6% increase that was expected. Excluding transportation products, though, orders were flat, which was worse than the projected 0.5% increase. Initial jobless claims dropped 24,000 to 209,000 in the week ended April 21, which was a larger drop than expected. The advance goods trade deficit narrowed to $68.0B in March, versus the $75B deficit that had been forecast. In Europe, the ECB kept its key interest rates unchanged and confirmed that its net asset purchases, at the current monthly pace of EUR30B, are intended to run until the end of September 2018, or beyond, if necessary. COMPANY NEWS: Facebook shares advanced 9% after it reported upside to Wall Street’s revenue and profit forecasts while not making significant changes to its fiscal year guidance, which was a concern given the recent Cambridge Analytica situation. Additionally, management downplayed Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation impact, further easing investor worries… Ford (F) gained nearly 3% after reporting earnings and automotive revenues that topped expectations, while also announcing last night that almost 90% of the Ford portfolio in North America will be trucks, utilities and commercial vehicles by 2020 as the company pivots away from less-in-demand traditional sedans. Peer General Motors (GM) also reported better than expected sales and profits for the first quarter, but its shares only rose fractionally for… AT&T (T) backed its FY18 EPS view of around $3.50 despite reporting first quarter results, particularly revenue, that missed expectations. Time Warner (TWX), which is working to overcome a court challenge and be acquired by AT&T, posted better than expected quarterly results and also affirmed its full-year outlook… Visa led all gainers on the Dow, rising about 5% after its better than anticipated revenue growth drove consensus-beating earnings as well… Meanwhile, Ciena (CIEN) shares rebounded from intraday lows after the company defended itself from a negative research call from Rosenblatt Securities, which had said its recent checks indicated AT&T spending may not be as much as anticipated. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Comstock Resources (CRK), which surged 47% after it said that it is in talks with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to make a substantial investment in the company. Also higher were Chipotle (CMG) and AMD (AMD), which gained a respective 24% and 14% after reporting quarterly results. Among the notable losers after reporting quarterly results were Spectrum Brands (SPB) and MGM Resorts (MGM), which fell 20% and 9%, respectively. INDEXES: The Dow rose 238.51, or 0.99%, to 24,322.34, the Nasdaq gained 114.94, or 1.64%, to 7,118.68, and the S&P 500 advanced 27.54, or 1.04%, to 2,666.94.