Stocks rose on Thursday, clawing back some of their losses from the previous session, 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 268.93 points, or 1%, to 26,788.88.
The S&P 500 increased 39.08 points, or 1.2%, to 3,310.11. Thursday marked the first daily gain for the Dow in five days. The S&P 500 snapped a three-day slide.
The NASDAQ popped 180.73 points, or 1.6%, to 11,185.59.
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.
Shares of Amazon acquired 1.5%, and Apple rose 3.7%. Alphabet closed 3.1% higher and Facebook popped nearly 5%. Six of the 11 S&P 500 sectors gained more than 1%, including tech and communication services. Netflix, meanwhile, surged more than 5% after the company announced it will raise prices for U.S. subscribers.
Amazon and Alphabet reported better-than-expected earnings after the bell along with Facebook. Apple was slated to report later in the evening.
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 hard, raising yields to 0.83% from Wednesday’s 0.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $1.06 at $36.33 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $8.60 to $1,870.60