The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Thursday after new data showed third-quarter GDP grew faster than expected and hinted at waning inflation, encouraging investors to buy stocks linked to the health of the economy.
The 30-stock index held onto gains of 198.72 points to conclude Thursday at 32,037.83, led by shares of McDonald's, Honeywell and Caterpillar after they reported better-than-expected earnings.
The S&P 500 went backward 22.59 points to 3,808.01.
The NASDAQ plummeted 178.32 points or 1.6%, to 10,792.68, as a rout in Facebook-parent Meta and other tech stocks weighed on those benchmarks.
Meta shares plummeted 29.7% on a weak fourth-quarter forecast and disappointing third-quarter earnings Wednesday. The company also said it would lose even more money next year building out the metaverse. The report led to several analysts downgrading the stock.
Apple was trading lower ahead of its after-the-bell earnings Thursday, as investors soured on big tech after some high profile earnings misses.
Birinyi Associates notes that Apple has beaten earnings estimates in each of the past eight quarters, but it has closed lower the next day after six of those reports.
After four of those quarterly releases, the stock was also lower a week later.
Apple was down about 2.9% Thursday afternoon. Birinyi notes that the company is expected to report earnings of $1.26 per share on revenues of $88.63 billion after the market close.
U.S. GDP increased at a 2.6% annualized pace for the period, against the Dow Jones estimate for 2.3% growth. The report, the first quarter of positive growth for 2022, eased investors' concerns about a recession.
Treasury prices gained, lowering yields to 3.92% from Wednesday's 4.01%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices heightened $1.09 to $89.00 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $3.20 to $1,666.00 U.S. an ounce.