Stocks Remain Buoyant on Tech Strength

Stocks rose on Thursday as shares of major tech companies advanced ahead of their quarterly earnings reports. Sentiment also got a lift from better-than-expected economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 47.89 points to 26,567.84

The S&P 500 increased 25.43 points to 3,296.46.

The NASDAQ popped 143.55 points, or 1.3%, to 11,148.42.

Thursday’s moves came a day after the market’s biggest selloff in months. Both the Dow and S&P 500 had their worst day on Wednesday since June.

Shares of Amazon shot higher 0.9% and Apple soared 2.7%. Alphabet traded 2.6% higher and Facebook popped 4.3%. All four companies are slated to report earnings after the bell Thursday.

More than 270 S&P 500 companies have reported calendar third-quarter earnings thus far. Of those companies, 85% have reported better-than-expected earnings. Despite the high beat rate, several stocks have fallen after releasing their quarterly results.

U.S. gross domestic product for the third quarter expanded at a 33.1% annualized pace, its fastest growth ever. The reading came after a 31.4% plunge in the second quarter and was better than the 32% estimate from economists surveyed by Dow Jones.

Meanwhile, the number of first-time unemployment-benefits filers declined for a second straight week and hit its lowest level since March. Initial weekly U.S. jobless claims came in at 751,000 for the week ending Oct. 24, better than a Dow Jones estimate of 778,000.

Prices for the 10-Year Treasury fell, raising yields to 0.82% from Wednesday’s 0.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices dropped $1.41 at $35.98 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices dipped $8.60 to $1,878.30