By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – The Dow struggled for direction Thursday, led by gains in technology ahead of earnings from big tech, while positive economic data helped eased worries about the pace of recovery amid a surge in coronavirus cases.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.09%, or 24 points. The S&P 500 was up 0.81%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.40%.
FAANG, with the exception of Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), led tech higher as bargain-hunting investors appeared to swoop in for big tech stocks following a rout a day earlier.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), all of which report earnings after the bell, traded in the green.
Facebook was up more than 5% as investors bet the social media giant is set to report a solid quarter of earnings following impressive quarterly results from its social media peers including Snap (NYSE:SNAP) and Pinterest.
"Despite a brief advertiser boycott over the summer, Facebook "should deliver another quarter of solid top-line growth as Covid-fueled advertising heads ease," Canaccord Genuity said.
Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) surged 29% after reporting third-quarter results that markedly beat analysts' estimates thanks to a jump in user growth.
Ford Motor (NYSE:F), meanwhile, also reported blowout quarterly results led by stronger performance in North America amid demand for its trucks and sports utility vehicles, sending it shares up 2%.
Sentiment on stocks was also supported by a bigger-than-expected gain in economic growth in the third quarter and signs the labor market remains somewhat resilient.
Gross domestic product increased at a 33.1% annual rate in the June-September period, the Commerce Department said in its first estimate on Thursday, beating economists' forecast for 31%.
"Consumption was the biggest driver of that bounce, up 40.7%. Within that, durable goods were up a whopping 82.2%, but services and nondurables posted solid gains as well," Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) said in a note.
Initial jobless claims for the week ended Oct. 23 fell to 751,000 from 791,000 the prior week, lower than expectations of 775,000.
The upbeat economic backdrop comes amid renewed concerns that the rising infections could trigger more lockdowns, with France and Germany set to impose new restrictions to curb the outbreak.
Energy pared some of its losses from Wednesday, and rose more than 1% after shrugging off weaker oil prices ahead of quarterly earnings from oil majors in the sector including Exxon Mobil .
Ahead of its third-quarter results due Friday, Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) rose 3% after announcing that it would slash as many as 1,900 jobs in a bid to rein in costs, and also kept its dividend steady for the first time in nearly 40 years.