Stocks rose early Thursday, with the Dow industrials chasing the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq futures, after GDP and other key economic data came in stronger than expected. Meanwhile, Meta Platforms, Chipotle Mexican Grill and solar player Nextracker, a recent initial public offering, were big earnings movers.
The stock market rally had a mixed session Wednesday amid big earnings and a fresh Federal Reserve rate hike. The Dow Jones is riding a 13-day win streak, the longest since 1987. The S&P 500 is hovering at a 15-month high while the Nasdaq is slightly below that level.
Key Earnings
META stock jumped at Thursday's open, after reporting strong earnings and bullish guidance Wednesday night. NXT stock surged, signaling at least an early entry, on strong earnings. CMG stock fell sharply after missing second-quarter sales views and guiding low on same-store sales for the third quarter.
Royal Caribbean surged after the cruise line returned to profitability in dramatic fashion, beating views and predicting a huge sequential gain in the third quarter. RCL stock vaulted from the 21-day line to clear a short consolidation.
ServiceNow was flat after narrowly beating views, raising its full-year outlook, setting a $1.5 billion buyback and announcing an artificial intelligence partnership with Nvidia. McDonald's rose toward a buy point after earnings and sales topped views, with strong growth in all regions.
United Rentals, Mobileye, Crocs and Lam Research also released quarterly results. United Rentals and MBLY stock fell modestly despite strong results and outlooks. CROX stock stumbled on weak guidance. Lam Research rose on solid earnings and its outlook.
Meta led megacap stocks higher early Thursday, Google parent Alphabet extended Wednesday's earnings breakout. Apple nudged toward record highs. Amazon.com climbed after finding support at the 10-week line Wednesday. Microsoft climbed slightly after retreating Wednesday following AI and its cloud outlook. Tesla also is set to retake a key level.
META stock and Tesla are on IBD Leaderboard, with CMG stock on the Leaderboard watchlist. Microsoft stock is on the IBD Long-Term Leaders list. ServiceNow, United Rentals and Tesla stock are on the IBD 50. NOW stock and Tesla are on the IBD Big Cap 20.
Economic Data
The Commerce Department reported second-quarter GDP rose at a 2.4% annual rate, picking up from the first quarter's 2% pace and defying views for a slowdown to 1.5%. Consumer spending slowed to a 1.6% annualized rate from 4.2% in the first quarter.
June durable goods orders surged 4.7% in June, crushing views for a 0.5% gain, after May's upwardly revised 2% advance. Orders excluding transportation goods rose 0.6% vs. views for a 0.1% dip. Core capital goods orders climbed 0.2% vs. forecasts for a 0.1% decline.
Jobless claims fell 7,000 to 221,000 in the week ended July 22 vs. views for a gain to 235,000.
Around 8:15 a.m. ET, the European Central Bank raised its key rate by a quarter-point to 3.75%, as expected, following the Fed's hike.
Dow Jones Futures Today
The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 0.2% higher, with MCD stock offering a slim lift. The S&P 500 climbed 0.7%. The Nasdaq composite jumped 1.4%. Meta fueled the Nasdaq's gains, both directly and by fueling big general gains among tech stocks.
Oil futures were up more than 1%, with WTI trading near the $80 per barrel mark. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed several basis points to 3.9%.
Join IBD experts as they analyze actionable stocks in the stock market rally on IBD Live
Stock Market Rally
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.2% in Wednesday's stock market trading. The S&P 500 index edged lower. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%. The small-cap Russell 2000 rose 0.7%, buoyed by banks.
Crude oil prices declined 1.1% to $78.78 a barrel, retreating from a three-month high.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell 6 basis points to 3.85%.
Five Best Chinese Stocks To Watch Now
Megacap Stocks
Meta stock leapt nearly 8% at the open, marking a 17-month high. The Facebook parent easily beat views and gave a bullish outlook. It also cut full-year capital spending plans.
Google stock climbed 1.7% to 131.51. On Wednesday, GOOGL stock jumped 5.6% to 129.27, breaking out from a cup-with-handle base. The buy point was 127.10. according to MarketSmith.
Apple stock rose 1%, just below all-time highs. Apple reports on Aug. 3.
Amazon stock advanced 2.8% in early trade, signaling a move back above the 21-day line. On Wednesday, AMZN stock fell 0.8%, but did bounce from an intraday test near the 50-day and 10-week lines. Investors could view the recent action as a handle on a consolidation going back to last August. Amazon also reports results on Aug. 3.
MSFT stock climbed 0.5%, even as the European Union opened a formal probe into the company's move to bundle Teams with other products. On Wednesday, shares fell 3.8%, sinking below their 21-day moving average but bouncing off the 50-day line. Just last week, Microsoft stock hit a record high.
Tesla stock rose 1.3%, on track to reclaim its 21-day line. Shares pulled back hard last week following Tesla earnings. But TSLA stock could be forging a handle on a very deep base going back to September.
Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.
Please follow Ed Carson on Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.
