Investing.com – Wall Street opened higher on Thursday, bolstered by strong earnings results from technology companies.
The S&P 500 was up over 10 points or 0.40% to 2,650.08 as of 9:40 AM ET (13:40 GMT) while the Dow composite increased over 53 points or 0.22% to 24,137.80 and tech heavy NASDAQ Composite rose 63 points or 0.90% to 7,067.06.
Technology stocks were much higher after stronger than expected earnings results.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) surged 9.02% after its first-quarter results came in higher than expected. The social media site reported a 63% rise in profits, as the business remains untouched by a scandal over user data.
Meanwhile investors will be paying close attention to Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), which reports after the market close, after recent comments from U.S. President Donald Trump on the firms agreements with the United States Postal Service. The firm was up 2.16%.
Elsewhere Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) rose 3.72% while Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) increased 1.79%. Both firms are expected to report earnings after the closing bell.
AT&T (NYSE:T) fell 4.92% after its earnings came in lower than expected while General Motors (NYSE:GM) dipped 1.86% despite its financial results beating analyst expectations.
Meanwhile economic data supported speculation that the U.S. economy is strong enough for increased interest rate hikes over the next few months. The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell more than expected, decreasing by 24,000 to 209,000 the Labor Department said on Thursday. A separate report showed that U.S. durable goods orders rose more than expected in March.
In Europe stocks were mixed. Germany’s DAX fell 11 points or 0.09% while in France the CAC 40 increased 22 points or 0.41% and in London, the FTSE 100 was up eight points or 0.12%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 rose five points or 0.16% while Spain’s IBEX 35 gained 14 points or 0.14%.
In commodities, gold futures rose 0.14% to $1,324.70 a troy ounce while crude oil futures increased 0.48% to $68.38 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.23% to 90.82.