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Following the lackluster performance seen over the course of the previous session, stocks have moved sharply higher during trading on Thursday. With the upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have reached new record intraday highs.<\/p>\n
Currently, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 209.54 points or 1.0 percent at 21,339.21 and the S&P 500 is up 40.53 points or 0.6 percent at 6,403.43. The narrower Dow is posting a more modest gain, up 96.00 points or 0.2 percent at 44,557.28.<\/p>\n
The strength on Wall Street comes following the release of upbeat earnings news from tech giants Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT).<\/p>\n
Facebook parent Meta Platforms is soaring by 11.5 percent after the company reported better than expected second quarter results and provided upbeat third quarter revenue guidance.<\/p>\n
Shares of Microsoft are also surging by 4.4 percent after the software giant reported fiscal fourth quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.<\/p>\n
Traders are also keeping an eye on the latest developments on the trade front ahead of President Donald Trump’s tariff deadline on Friday.<\/p>\n
During an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he believes the U.S. and China “have the makings of a deal” and expressed confidence an agreement would be reached.<\/p>\n
Trump announced a trade deal with South Korea in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, with a 15 percent tariff to be imposed on South Korean goods.<\/p>\n
In U.S. economic news, a closely watched report released by the Commerce Department showed consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of June.<\/p>\n
Sector News<\/p>\n
Software stocks are seeing substantial strength following the upbeat earnings news from Microsoft, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index surging by 2.6 percent. The index reached a record intraday high earlier in the session.<\/p>\n
Considerable strength is also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 2.2 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index<\/p>\n
Western Digital (WDC) has helped lead the sector higher, spiking by 6.9 percent after reporting better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results.<\/p>\n
Biotechnology and networking stocks are also seeing strength on the day, while steel, semiconductor and oil service stocks have moved to the downside.<\/p>\n
Other Markets<\/p>\n
In overseas trading, stock markets<\/span> across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.6 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1.2 percent, although Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index bucked the downtrend and jumped by 1.0 percent.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.5 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.6 percent.<\/p>\n In the bond market, treasuries have shown a modest move back to the upside. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.4 basis points at 4.352 percent. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Business News<\/p>\n<\/div>\n