The Nasdaq Composite rose Thursday as fourth-quarter gross domestic product came in above expectations, and investors parsed through the latest batch of corporate earnings.
The tech-heavy index jumped 1.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 104 points, or 0.3%, higher. The S&P 500 rose 0.6%.
GDP data released Thursday showed the economy expand at an annualized rate of 2.9% during the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said. That’s above the 2.8% Dow Jones estimate, but represents a slight cooldown from the third-quarter reading.
“With today’s better-than-expected GDP number, I think investors are thinking, maybe we can get away with a pretty soft, mild recession that is not likely to throw us into an even deeper bear market when all is said and done,” said Sam Stovall, CFRA Research’s chief investment strategist.
Meanwhile, earnings season trudged on, with strong results from Tesla giving the Nasdaq and electric vehicle stocks a boost. Tesla jumped 9% after posting record revenue and solid earnings. Beaten-up technology giants Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Alphabet added more than 1% each.
Airline earnings also rolled out, with Southwest falling on a larger-than-expected loss fueled by its holiday meltdown. American Airlines rose on a fourth-quarter beat.
Elsewhere, Chevron added 3% after announcing a $75 billion share repurchasing program.
Wall Street is coming off a mixed session, but all the major averages are headed for weekly, and monthly, gains. The Dow and S&P are up 1.5% and 1.9% so far this week, respectively. The Nasdaq has gained 3.1% this week and is on pace for its best month since July.
Focus now shifts to next week’s Federal Reserve policy, where the central bank is widely expected to announce a 25 basis point hike as it battles high inflation. Investors will be on the lookout for clue into how much further the Fed intends to hike before it cuts rates.