Stocks moved higher on Thursday morning as strong earnings from major companies bolstered the equity markets.
The Dow Jones Industrials sprinted 175.46 points to 35,666.15
The S&P 500 regained 27.81 points to 4,579.49.
The NASDAQ Composite hiked 108.47 points to 15.344.21.
The S&P 500 has gained 5.6% in October, on pace to post its best month since November 2020. The Dow is up 4.9% this month, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ has rallied 5.5%.
Ford was a standout in early trading, as its shares jumped more than 9% on blockbuster earnings while also raising guidance. The automaker said increased availability of semiconductors during the quarter allowed it to ramp up production. Mastercard, Merck and Caterpillar also moved higher following earnings beats.
The move for stocks came despite a disappointing economic report on Thursday. Gross Domestic Product growth for the third-quarter came in at 2.0%, below the 2.8% expected. The reading marks a slowdown from 6.7% growth in the second quarter.
On a more positive note for the economy, weekly initial jobless claims came in at 281,000. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting 289,000 claims.
Earnings season has seen some weak spots. Shares of Twilio and eBay were under pressure on Thursday after disappointing quarterly reports. The market will be getting more big earnings news later in the day, with tech giants Amazon and Apple reporting after the closing bell.
Wall Street was also monitoring events in Washington, where Democrats and President Joe Biden appear to have reached a deal on a $1.75-trillion social spending bill.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys swooned, raising yields to 1.56% from Wednesday's 1.54%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices weakened 16 cents to $82.50 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered $6.30 to $1,805.10 U.S. an ounce.