Stocks advanced Thursday as investors parsed data indicating continued economic growth and the latest corporate earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off their highs of the morning, but remained buoyant 23.9 points to 37,830.29.
The S&P 500 index gained 14.34 points to 4,882.70.
The NASDAQ gathered 58.25 points to 15,540.17.
With those gains, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ are both on pace for their six straight winning session.
But gains were restricted by a selloff in Tesla, a retail investor favorite. Shares slumped 10% after the electric vehicle maker posted disappointing fourth-quarter results and warned of lower vehicle volume growth for 2024.
On the other hand, IBM jumped 8% after the technology company posted adjusted earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ predictions.
More than one-fifth of S&P 500 companies that have reported financials this earnings season, according to FactSet. Nearly 74% of those have surpassed Wall Street expectations, the firm’s data shows.
Gross domestic product data showed the U.S. economy grew at a rate of 3.3% in the fourth quarter. That’s much higher than the 2% expectation from economists polled by Dow Jones, underscoring continued economic resiliency despite interest rate hikes.
Thursday’s report also included encouraging data on the inflation front. The price index for personal consumption expenditures rose 2.7% on an annualized basis, down from 5.9% a year prior. So-called core PCE, which excludes food and energy, increased by 3.2%, down from 5.1%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury jumped, lowering yields to 4.15% from Wednesday’s 4.18%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained $1.48 to $76.57 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped two dollars to $2,014.00.
