Stocks close higher as tech giants report profits and expansion plans
Meta and Microsoft surprised to the upside on better-than-expected showing from AI the previous day.
- Stocks finished modestly higher Thursday, their eighth winning day, marking investor optimism after a slate of strong tech-company earnings despite ongoing uncertainty over the U.S.'s tariff policy.
Stock markets swung higher on Thursday on strong tech company earnings that underlined the profit-boosting possibility of artificial intelligence, even as the underlying economic news remained uncertain.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6%. The Dow gained 0.2% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq popped 1.5%.
Both Meta and Microsoft reported better-than-expected earnings the previous day. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, boosted its capital expenditure spending plans by billions of dollars as it leans even further into AI. Microsoft reported a 13% revenue surge on the strength of its cloud and AI business.
They are two of the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks that have been driving equity markets higher for much of the post-pandemic period.
Tech companies' expansion plans mark a show of confidence in the economy despite the uncertainty of U.S.' tariff policy, Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist for LPL Financial, told Fortune earlier this week.
"The headlines have been getting better, but we haven’t seen anything meaningful and tangible yet, so the market seems to be taking a leap of faith that we’re going to get some attractive trade deals with some trading partners fairly soon," he said.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
