4:15pm: Record session
Thursday’s close marked the end of the best month for US stocks since 2020, with gains driven by economic data and Big Tech earnings.
The S&P 500 added 1% to close above 7,200 for the first time at 7,209 points. The Nasdaq was up 0.9% at 24,892 points, a new closing record, and the Dow Jones added 1.6% at 49,652 points.
3:45pm: Proactive news headlines
- Sintana Energy Inc (TSX-V:SEI, OTCQB:SEUSF, FRA:3ZX1, AIM:SEI)said it is entering a catalyst-rich 2026 with new wells, seismic results, and potential farm-in deals expected across its growing offshore exploration portfolio.
- Northstar Gold Corp. (CSE:NSG) raised about C$300,000 through the first tranche of a private placement to fund exploration work at its Cam Copper critical minerals project in Ontario.
- 374Water Inc (NASDAQ:SCWO, FRA:8LL) reported U.S. government-backed test results showing its AirSCWO technology effectively destroys PFAS contaminants, supporting its environmental cleanup potential.
- NEXE Innovations Inc (TSX-V:NEXE, OTC:NEXNF, FRA:FRA: NX5) said a new customer commitment to shift single-serve coffee pod volumes to its compostable platform is expected to boost annual production to 10–15 million pods.
- MustGrow Biologics Corp. (TSX-V:MGRO, OTCQB:MGROF, FRA:0C0) posted a sharp rise in 2025 revenue to $8.3 million as demand grew for its biological and regenerative agriculture products, especially TerraSante in the U.S.
2:30pm: Market movers
- Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE:RCL) beat first-quarter expectations and raised its 2026 profit outlook, sending shares up about 7.5% as strong demand helped offset higher fuel costs and geopolitical pressures.
- Hertz Global (NYSE:HTZ) surged 22% after launching fleet management unit Oro Mobility and naming Uber Technologies, Inc. as its first major partner to expand into autonomous robotaxi and rideshare operations.
- Stellantis NV (NYSE:STLA, EPA:STLA) shares fell about 5% after weaker-than-expected free cash flow overshadowed stronger revenue and profit in its first-quarter 2026 results.
- Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY) climbed about 8% after first-quarter earnings beat estimates, driven by strong demand for diabetes and obesity drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound.
- Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) topped Wall Street expectations on first-quarter revenue and earnings as retail vehicle sales growth and record profitability lifted results.
- Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM, XETRA:QCI) rose 12.6% after second-quarter fiscal 2026 results beat estimates, helped by strong automotive revenue and its expanding AI strategy despite handset weakness.
- Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) beat first-quarter revenue and earnings expectations, but shares fell more than 3% as investors focused on one-time gains and continued EV unit losses.
- 374Water Inc (NASDAQ:SCWO, FRA:8LL) reported U.S. government-backed test results showing its AirSCWO technology effectively destroys PFAS contaminants, supporting its environmental cleanup potential.
12:35pm: Inflation limits the run
Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management, said the latest GDP, PCE and income data point to an economy that is strengthening but unevenly balanced.
She noted growth near 2% is being supported by AI-driven investment, while inflation—especially core PCE—remains stubbornly elevated.
"Markets are parsing that split. A strong labor backdrop and solid spending support the expansion, but persistent inflation keeps the Fed sidelined," Bolvin commented.
"This is a cycle where innovation is lifting growth, but inflation is limiting how far markets can run."
11:30am: Core PCE rises
US inflation accelerated in March, with the Federal Reserve’s preferred price gauge rising to its highest level in months, reinforcing expectations that policymakers may keep interest rates higher for longer.
The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 0.7% month-over-month in March, matching forecasts, while annual PCE inflation climbed to 3.5%, also in line with expectations and marking its highest level since August 2023.
Core PCE, which strips out food and energy prices and is closely watched by the Fed, increased 0.3% on the month and 3.2% year-over-year, both matching estimates. The annual core reading was the highest since November 2023.
The hotter inflation data is likely to strengthen the Fed’s cautious stance on rate cuts as officials continue to assess whether price pressures are easing sustainably toward the central bank’s 2% target.
10.20am: Data dump
Lots of US data out today, including GDP and consumer spending.
GDP came in at 2% year-on-year, lower than the 2.3% consensus forecast.
The Federal Reserve’s favoured core inflation measure, PCE, was 0.3% on the month or 3.2% year-on-year, in line with estimates.
The employment cost index rose 0.9% quarter-on-quarter, above the consensus 0.8%,
Initial jobless claims fell sharply to 189k, below the consensus 212k.
Consumer spending grew only 1.6% in the first quarter after 1.9% at the end of 2025.
"As such, this paints a rather mixed picture of the state of the economy in the lead up to and early start of the Middle East conflict," says ING.
Looking at GDP, the 2% growth follows a 0.5% outcome in the fourth quarter 2025, both of which were weaker than the market was anticipating.
With the government shutdown in October subtracting from headline growth, with the resumption adding back most of this, "it is probably a good idea to take an average of the headline growth for the two quarters, which at 1.25%, is a notable slowdown on recent years."
ING notes that a big rebound in imports led to net trade subtracting 1.3pp from headline GDP growth.
Drawing on various recent updates, around Yardeni Research says: "Consumer spending doesn’t seem to have let up despite higher gas prices and greater geopolitical uncertainty stemming from the war in the Middle East.
"That’s the view from the vantage points of both Hilton and Visa execs."
"Concerns about the strength of consumer spending have been growing since the Iran war erupted and energy prices surged. But they’ve proved unfounded so far.
"The latest evidence that consumers have continued their spendthrift ways comes from the top brass at Visa and Hilton Worldwide Holdings.
"Both executive teams reported strong March-quarter results, upped their full-year earnings guidance, and described consumers spending and traveling apace despite higher gasoline prices and geopolitical uncertainties."
10am: Dow led up by Caterpillar, while Nasdaq dragged by Meta
It was a lopsided start on Wall Street, with the Dow opening up 0.8% and the Nasdaq down 0.2%, with the S&P in the middle, up 0.1%.
Dragging down the Nasdaq were falls of 9.3% for Meta Platforms and 3.8% for Microsoft.
Over on the Dow, just over half the 30 stocks opened in green, led by an 8.3% leap for Caterpillar, followed by sub 2% gains for Walmart and Verizon.
8am: Stock gains expected
US stocks are expected to rise on Thursday, as investor confidence was boosted by a well-received set of earnings from three of the four 'Magnificent Seven' tech giants, offsetting concern about a further surge in oil prices.
Dow Jones futures were up 0.6%, with gains of 0.5% and 0.3% predicted for the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.
The tone is being set by the busy round of after-hours tech earnings.
According to market reaction, results from Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet were broadly strong, particularly in cloud computing, which continues to be a key driver of growth as companies invest heavily in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) jumped sharply after beating expectations, with the premarket gain now 9.2%. Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) delivered its fastest cloud growth in more than three years, pushing its shares up 3%.
Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares are down 1.7% in premarket trading, despite reporting 39% growth in its Azure cloud unit, reinforcing the link between AI spending and revenue generation.
Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) was the outlier, down 9.2% premarket, after flagging $135-145 billion of spending, raising concerns about the scale and focus of its investment strategy.
The positive tech backdrop is helping offset macro concerns. Oil prices remain elevated, with WTI crude having surged above $110 a barrel overnight, keeping inflation risks in focus and limiting broader market enthusiasm. Prices have eased since the early hours, with futures contracts rolling over to the next month.
"The S&P 500 can extend its advance to new all-time highs after earnings from hyperscalers offered a positive AI narrative, Wall Street’s most potent driver," said market analyst Nikos Tzabouras at Tradu.
He said markets had been betting that the Middle East conflict would not derail the march of AI, and the results "vindicated that view", with commitments to AI infrastructure spend showing no signs of wavering.
"Coupled with mostly strong growth pointing to tangible AI monetisation, the results could go a long way to quashing fears over ballooning capital expenditure."
Meanwhile, Meta, he said, offers "a cautionary tale".
On today’s earnings slate, Apple headlines after the close, while Eli Lilly, Mastercard, Caterpillar, Merck and ConocoPhillips report before the open, with further after-hours updates due from Amgen, SanDisk, Western Digital and Stryker.