The technology sector pushed the Nasdaq on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday after better-than-expected results from Facebook ahead of post-market announcements from Alphabet, Apple and Amazon.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 3.25% to 12,200.82, the S&P 500 index rose 1.47% to 4,179.76, while the Dow Jones lagged slightly (-0.11%) to 34,053.94 , so the final results.
In an uneventful session following the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) rate hike the previous day, the market’s locomotive was Meta stock, which surged 23.28% to $188.77.
Facebook’s parent company announced declining results after the market close the day before, but better than expected for the social network leader, whose daily users on the planet reach 2 billion.
The largest session gain Facebook has ever seen in the stock market dates back to July 25, 2013, after the stock was up almost 30% at the close.
Investors also positioned themselves in the “tech” mega-caps, which reported their results after the market close.
Amazon rose 7.38% to $112.91 before shedding more than 6% in e-commerce after Wall Street shut down.
The e-commerce giant posted sales of $149.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022, beating its forecasts and market expectations as inflation weighed on consumer spending.
However, Amazon issued a cautious forecast for the current quarter.
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, was also down, falling 4% in e-commerce around 21:40 GMT after sales and earnings came in slightly below expectations. Net income for the fourth quarter was $13.6 billion, compared to $20.6 billion a year earlier.
The stock had previously closed up 7.27% at $108.80 on the back of strongly rising tech stocks.
Finally, computer giant Apple’s results disappointed for the first quarter of its mixed fiscal year, with both sales and earnings falling short of expectations while iPhone sales fell. The stock shed 3.63% in post-close trade after gaining just as much in the session to $150.82.
Automaker Ford fell 7.67% in e-commerce after gaining 3.99%. Group profit stagnated in 2022.
Coffee chain Starbucks also disappointed, missing its first-quarter profit target on a sales slump in China. The action, which ended down 0.76% at $109.15, is down 3.53% after the close.
Overall, “the business prospects for companies are weakening,” summarized Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital for AFP and, in view of the results and forecasts that have already been published, emphasized that “investments, demand for PCs and chips are declining”.
“If 2022 was the year in which the market reacted to the rise in interest rates, 2023 will be the year in which the labor market, inflation and corporate earnings will react to these increases,” assured the analyst.