US stocks gained steam on Thursday afternoon as investors digested megacap tech earnings and waited for Apple ( AAPL ) results for more clues on prospects for Big Tech.
The S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) gained 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) rose nearly 0.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) was up nearly 0.3%.
Right ahead of the closing bell, President Donald Trump once again teased looming 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada. The US dollar ( DX=F ) index spiked on the news, reversing earlier losses to close near flat.
After the Federal Reserve stood pat on interest rates as expected, investors have turned to parsing earnings reports — and in particular, the first wave of results from the "Magnificent Seven" companies that have driven broader stock market gains.
Tesla's ( TSLA ) stock ticked higher despite an earnings miss as investors took on trust its vow to return to growth in 2025. Meanwhile, Meta's ( META ) quarterly earnings beat helped lift its shares, but Microsoft stock slumped, down 6%, after its cloud revenue fell short .
Faith in Big Tech was put to the test after DeepSeek's cheaper AI model rattled assumptions about the likelihood of a payoff, the focus was on the rationale for their massive AI investments .
The Bureau of Economic Analysis's advance estimate of fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP ) showed the US economy grew at an annualized pace of 2.3%, below the 2.6% expected by economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, American Airlines ( AAL ) CEO Robert Isom expressed condolences following the collision between an American passenger jet and a US army helicopter on Wednesday night.
"We're absolutely heartbroken for the family and loved ones of the passengers and crew members and also for those that were on the military aircraft,” Isom said.
After the bell, Apple ( AAPL ) reported its fiscal first quarter earnings after the bell on Thursday, beating expectations on the top and bottom lines but falling short on iPhone revenue. Shares were down about 1% following the report.
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