4:05pm: Stocks fly high at the close
US stocks rose throughout Thursday's trading session to finish in positive terrrity, led by technology shares as markets continued a comeback from steep losses earlier this week.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.9% to 33,916 points, while the S&P 500 added 2.5% to stand at 4,288.
The technology-laden Nasdaq exchange gained a healthy 3.1% to close at 12,872.
12:15pm: US stocks remain ahead at midday
After starting the day slightly higher on Thursday, US stocks remained in the green at noon ahead of the release of quarterly results from Amazon and Apple after the bell.
The Dow was trading at 33,432 points, up 0.4%.
The S&P 500 was up 0.7% and the Nasdaq had gained 0.6%.
Following the release of its earnings which showed better-than-expected user growth despite coming in below analyst revenue expectations, Twitter shares were up about 2%.
Meanwhile, ING chief international economist James Knightley said US “stagflation” fears were on the rise following the release of GDP data this morning that showed the US economy shrank 1.4% in the first quarter due to the record trade deficit.
“A surprise GDP contraction at a time when inflation is running at 40-year highs will inevitably lead to more talks of stagflation, particularly with the Fed set to hike interest rates aggressively,” Knightley said.
“However, major trade and inventory swings masked decent underlying domestic demand with 2Q activity set to be much better.”
10.55am: Proactive North America headlines:
Mountain Valley MD updates on its technologies and pre-clinical progress across broad husbandry animal and human applications
CleanSpark partners with Sustainable Bitcoin Standard to boost clean bitcoin mining
Deepspatial joins the NielsenIQ Partner Network with NielsenIQ to empower businesses with AI-driven insights
HighGold (TSX-V:HIGH, OTCQX:HGGOF) Mining is 'too cheap to not buy' says Stifel GMP as broker repeats 'Buy' rating
Equity Metals confirms extension of promising NG-3 vein at the Silver Queen project in British Columbia
AFC Energy's hydrogen fuel cell to be showcased at flying taxi airport
PlantX launches a multi-brand pop-up retail initiative and obtains a $2M convertible loan
Nextleaf Solutions set to launch Glacial Gold softgels; appoints Kevin Keagan as CFO
Boosh says Beanfields secures new accounts as it hires Marsham Food Brokers for continued Canadian expansion
Ridgeline Minerals (TSX-V:RDG, OTCQB:RDGMF) says initial results from Swift drilling program are encouraging as it gears up for next phase in 2Q
Burcon NutraScience eyes opportunities with Merit Functional Foods; says CEO search going well
SPYR (OTCQB:SPYR) Technologies says its Applied Magix subsidiary is exploring intellectual property acquisition targets
American Manganese says it has been selected as 1 of 15 finalists to meet with decision-makers of different business lines at Evonik Industries
Therma Bright ships initial Venowave order to US distributor
Trust Stamp (NASDAQ:IDAI, EURONEXT:AIID) announces launch of first-of-a-kind Biometric Multi-Factor Authentication solution
Aurelius Minerals discovers high-grade gold samples at its Aureus East project in Nova Scotia
Canada Rare Earth forges agreement in principle to acquire a rare earth refinery
Minto Metals releases drill results showing potential to expand the copper resource at its Yukon property
Real Luck Group ends 2021 with over $14M cash to pursue growth goals
PyroGenesis confirms successful site acceptance testing of additional Drosrite system in North America
Nextech AR Solutions secures contract for ARitize from auto distributor Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC)
American Resources secures exclusive worldwide rights for new provisional patent to produce battery-grade lithium, cobalt and nickel
Skye Bioscience hires CMAX to run its phase 1 study of lead candidate SBI-100 OE for glaucoma
Kodiak adds second drill rig at MPD copper-gold porphyry project in Southern British Columbia
CULT Food Science invests in cell manufacturing innovator Unicorn Biotechnologies
Cabral Gold says latest diamond drill assays suggest presence of another primary gold deposit at Brazil asset
Wellbeing Digital Sciences (NEO:MEDI.AQN, OTCQB:KONEF) says IRP Health subsidiary approved as part of Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian veterans
Powertap Hydrogen says public hearing for Fortuna station zoning application set for May 2022
GR Silver says high-grade silver results may enhance resource estimation at Plomosas
9.48am: US stocks start higher
US stocks started higher on Thursday as traders mulled over the latest economic data, which showed the US economy shrank 1.4% in the first quarter but the fall was mainly due to the record trade deficit.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 161 points to 33,463 in New York, while the S&P 500 added around 46 points to stand at 4,230.
The technology-laden Nasdaq exchange gained around 192 points at 12,680.
Official figures showed that gross domestic product (GDP) was much weaker in the first three months of the year, while GDP surged by 6.9% at the end of 2021. But the US trade deficit alone had reduced GDP by 3.2 percentage points - the third highest number on record.
"A soft headline Q1 GDP number has been in the cards for some time so this does not change our view on the outlook," noted Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
"The Fed won’t be swayed next week by this report; we still expect a 50bp hike. And our expectation of a hefty rebound in growth in the second quarter means that the growth story alone won’t ease the upward pressure on rates," he added.
On the corporate front, shares in Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB) shot up almost 15% after the tech giant reported better-than-expected profit in Q1. Earnings per share came in at US 2.72 compared to analyst expectations for US$2.56. But revenue was US$27.91 billion, lower than estimates. In addition, active daily users grew to 1.96 billion in the first three months, marking a turnaround from 2021 when it reported a decline for the first time.
6.30am: More big tech earnings due
US stocks were expected to open higher on Thursday with the focus again on big tech earnings after Facebook’s owner Meta Platforms reported stronger than expected first-quarter figures yesterday, setting the stage for results from Twitter, Apple and Amazon after the New York close tonight.
Worries about inflationary pressures continue to rumble on as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now in its third month, continues without any clear sign of progress towards peace. Over in the US, the specter of rising interest rates is keeping investors worried about economic growth prospects. Both factors continue to keep markets on edge.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9% in Thursday’s pre-market trading, while those for the broader S&P 500 index were up 1.5%, and contracts for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 added 2.1%.
“Facebook owner Meta Platforms Q1 numbers weren’t as bad as markets had feared, sending the shares higher after hours in what looks like a bit of a relief rally,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK. “April has been a disappointing month for stock markets in general, but for US markets it’s been particularly bad with the Nasdaq 100 hitting one-year lows yesterday, before managing to finish more or less unchanged.”
Meta Platforms was up over 17% in premarket trading. Key technology stocks Twitter, Apple and Amazon are due to release results today.
US first-quarter GDP data is due out at 8.30 am ET and will also be in focus, together with US weekly jobless claims.
Q1 GDP is expected to have grown 1.0% from the corresponding quarter a year ago, a sharp slowdown from 6.9% in Q4 2021.
“At the end of March US Q4 GDP got revised down from 7% to 6.9%, as revisions to consumer spending and fewer exports prompted a slight downgrade, however, it was still a decent end to the year, however today’s first estimate for Q1 is likely to see a sharp slowdown,” said Hewson.
He noted that while consumer spending picked up in January, there were slowdowns in February and March.
Additionally, the strength of the US dollar could well act as a drag on US export growth, while surging commodity prices could hurt demand, Hewson said, adding: “We’ve already seen the impact surging inflation has had on consumer confidence while the housing market is also slowing sharply.”
Over in China, share prices were up after recent falls amid concerns that COVID-19-related lockdowns may dent economic growth.
Elsewhere, oil prices were a little higher, reflecting supply-side concerns. Benchmark Brent crude futures were up 0.3% at $105.25 a barrel, while WTI was 0.4% higher at $102.47 a barrel.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com