Dow jumps 400 points Thursday, heads for best day since January: Live updates

U.S. stocks rose Thursday, boosted by strong results from Meta Platforms.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 434 points, or 1.3%, on pace for the best day since Jan. 6. The Nasdaq Composite jumped around 2.2%. The S&P 500 climbed 1.6%.

Meta shares leapt more than 14% as the company reported quarterly revenue that beat analysts’ expectations and issued an upbeat forecast. Teladoc and Comcast were also among companies trading higher after releasing earnings reports.

But Caterpillar, which is often seen as a barometer of the global economy, lost more than 1%. Although it posted better-than-anticipated results, investors feared a build-up in inventory suggests demand is slowing. Merck, another Dow member, also traded slightly up after dropping earlier in the session as investors assessed its quarterly report.

Meanwhile, Honeywell, an industrial bellwether, provided upward momentum to the blue-chip average with a more than 3% advance on the back of a quarterly report that was better than Wall Street expected.

Amazon and Intel will share their quarterly results after the closing bell Thursday, adding to what has been a major earnings week for the technology sector. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) was up around 1.5% in Thursday’s session as investors upped exposure to tech stocks.

“The market was waiting with bated breath for Big Tech,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial. “Across the board, it hasn’t disappointed, and the market needed that.”

However, sentiment was kept in check after GDP data showed less economic growth than expected. The U.S. economy grew 1.1% in the first quarter, while economists polled by Dow Jones forecasted an expansion of 2%. The report also showed stronger-than-expected inflation, with prices increasing 4% compared with a consensus estimate of 3.7%.

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