Stocks rose on Thursday after strong quarterly results from two Big Tech players eased concerns that artificial intelligence progress would slow amid economic turmoil.

The climbed 232 points, or 0.6%. The traded up more than 1%, while the increased more than 2%.

Investor fears that President Donald Trump's tariffs and a downturn in the U.S. economy would threaten the AI trade were assuaged after posted revenue in the first quarter, with Meta's Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg saying on an earnings call Wednesday that the business is "performing very well" and that it's "well positioned to navigate the macroeconomic uncertainty."

also reported in the fiscal third quarter as well as strong results from its Azure cloud business. On top of that, the company offered upbeat guidance, further alleviating some concerns about tech companies' future performance. The company's executives said during an earnings call Wednesday that they expect capital expenditures to gain from here as they continue to expand data center capacity, adding that "cloud and AI are the essential inputs for every business to expand output, reduce costs and accelerate growth."

Those results sent shares up 8%, while Meta shares advanced about 4%. Other names like AI chip darling also moved higher by 4%, and information technology outpaced the rest of the S&P 500 sectors, seeing a 3% incline.

"Few stocks are truly immune to Trump tariffs [and] trade war, but AI is a lot less impacted than investors currently believe," said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management. "We're early in a very steep growth curve right now, and that goes for AI infrastructure."

Denting Thursday's bullishness somewhat was a to 241,000, more than the the Dow Jones estimate of 225,000. That jump exacerbated further concerns about the economy after the weak first-quarter gross-domestic-product report earlier in the week and raises the stakes for April's nonfarm payrolls reading on Friday.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the S&P 500 and the 30-stock Dow posted gains in volatile trading, coming back from earlier losses. At the day's lows, the broad market index was down more than 2%, while the blue-chip Dow lost more than 780 points.

Traders were initially shaken by weak economic data , showing that GDP fell at an annualized pace of 0.3%. It marked the first quarter of negative growth since Q1 of 2022. Economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast a 0.4% gain. Investors looked past the dismal results and began buying back into the market late in the session, resulting in a rebound into positive territory for the Dow and S&P 500.

Wednesday marked the final trading day in April, in which stocks were first whipsawed after President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariff announcement on April 2 and the subsequent suspension of the highest levies. At one point, during the month, the S&P 500 briefly slipped into – falling more than 20% from its February record high – before recapturing some of its losses. The broad market index wound up ending Wednesday about 9% off its record close.

Still, the comeback couldn't save S&P 500 and the Dow from a losing April, as they slipped about 0.8% and 3.2%, respectively. The , however, advanced 0.9% in the period.

Stocks making the biggest moves midday

Check out some of the companies making headlines in midday trading:

• — Shares of the Facebook parent jumped about 4% after the company . Meta signaled ongoing advertising resilience and upped its capital expenditures range to reflect more data center infrastructure investments, even amid macroeconomic uncertainty. The company also issued in-line guidance for the current period. 

• — The online home goods store gained nearly 2% after first-quarter results beat Wall Street's estimates on the top and bottom line. Wayfair notched an adjusted 10 cents per share on revenue of $2.73 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG forecast a loss of 22 cents per share on $2.71 billion of revenue. Wayfair also reported improvement in its gross profit and free cash flow metrics.

• — The dental products company added more than 2% after first-quarter earnings topped expectations. Align reported $2.13 in adjusted earnings per share, above the $1.99 per share projected by analysts, according to FactSet. The company also said the clear aligner products it sells in the U.S. are made in Mexico, not China, potentially limiting the impact of tariffs.

Read the full list .

— Brian Evans

Vaccine stocks lower on FDA plans to require placebo-controlled trials

Shares of vaccine manufacturers are under pressure Thursday after suggest new vaccines will need to undergo clinical trials with placebo controls before receiving Food and Drug Administration approval. This could impact the ability to roll out updated vaccine boosters for Covid-19, the reports said.

In a placebo-controlled study, patients need to be enrolled without knowing whether they will receive the drug being tested. This process is typical for new drugs, but has not been part of the process for seasonal updates to vaccines like the flu shot.

Leerink analysts led by David Risinger said "it difficult to fathom how it would be ethical to require placebo-controlled trials and how subjects would be motivated to enroll in a trial in which they are at risk of receiving placebo."

and shares were each down more than 2%. , and shares were all nearly 3% lower. Moderna shares tumbled 5%.

— Christina Cheddar Berk

'Charts are building a bullish case for more upside in the coming weeks,' Piper Sandler says

As the S&P 500 is on pace for its eighth consecutive day of gains, the market could be in store for more gains ahead, according to Piper Sandler.

"Beneath the headline turbulence, the Technicals reveal an increasingly constructive narrative. This bull market off the '22 lows likely isn't finished—it's just evolving," Craig Johnson, the firm's chief market technician, wrote in a Thursday note. "With the SPX rebounding off long-term support (4,835) and market internals in recovery mode, investors have an opportunity to capitalize on recent oversold extremes."

"As the headlines stir skepticism, the charts are building a bullish case for more upside in the coming weeks," Johnson added.

— Sean Conlon

7 stocks in the S&P 500 trade at new 52-week highs

Seven stocks in the traded at new 52-week highs on Thursday.

Of these names, five reached new all-time highs. This included the following:

• trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in May 2002
• trading at all-time high levels since its IPO in April 1997
• trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in 1983
•  trading at all-time highs back to its Alcoa spinoff in November 2016
• trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in January 1998

Just two stocks were trading at new 52-week lows on Thursday: Church & Dwight and Becton Dickinson.

— Christopher Hayes, Lisa Kailai Han

Tariff uncertainty has brought about 'one of the sharpest relative declines in sentiment vs growth indicators," JPMorgan says

Uncertainty surrounding rising trade tensions from President Donald Trump's tariffs has spurred a massive divergence between sentiment and growth, according to JPMorgan.

"Trade policy uncertainty has sparked one of the sharpest relative declines in sentiment vs growth indicators (i.e., sentiment has fallen but growth remains resilient for now)," analyst Arun Jain wrote in a note Thursday. "This has been the sixth largest divergence in 40 years based on our business cycle indicators (US QMI)."

To be sure, Jain noted that it's uncertain as to whether the drop in sentiment is an "overreaction" or that growth drivers are "being overstated by tariff related front-loading," seeing that the business cycle damage is still "unclear."

"History suggests such divergences often inflate defensive positioning further over the subsequent quarter with Quality / Low Vol outperforming," the analyst also said.

— Sean Conlon

Tesla shares rise after EV maker denies report about looking to replace Elon Musk

Shares of  rose more than 2% in morning trading Thursday on the heels of the electric vehicle maker that the company's board was searching for a replacement for CEO Elon Musk.

"Earlier today, there was a media report erroneously claiming that the Tesla Board had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search at the company," Tesla chair Robyn Denholm wrote in a . "This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published)."

Tesla shares previously fell 3% in overnight trading on Robinhood following the report.

— Amala Balakrishner, Sean Conlon

ISM manufacturing reading beats forecasts despite tariffs

Despite the looming threat of tariffs, factory activity in April was actually better than expected, according to an Institute for Supply Management report Thursday.

The , considered a key measure of broader economic health, edged lower to 48.7% on the month, down 0.3 percentage point from March but better than the 47.8% Dow Jones consensus forecast.

Any reading below 50% represents contraction for the sector, but historically a sustained level above 42.3% is considered consistent with economic expansion.

The survey showed declining readings for production, new export orders, imports and inventories. Employment nudged up 1 percentage point to 46.5% while prices also rose, but just slightly to 69.8%. Commentary in the report focused on negative impact from tariffs, with respondents indicating higher prices and profitability constraints.

— Jeff Cox

CVS shares rise after company beats earnings, hikes guidance

Shares of rose more than 8% in morning trading on Thursday after the company's beat analyst estimates.

The company also raised its earnings forecast for the full year, expecting adjusted earnings of $6 to $6.20 per share. That's up from its prior guidance of between $5.75 and $6 per share.

Thursday's move higher comes as the stock has already seen monster gains in 2025, with its year-to-date rise now sitting at more than 60%. The S&P 500, by contrast, has fallen more than 4% in the same period.

— Annika Kim Constantino, Sean Conlon

Stocks open higher

Stocks traded up Thursday morning.

The S&P 500 jumped 1% just after the opening bell, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 210 points, or 0.5%.

— Sean Conlon

McDonald's says 'negative comparable guest counts' responsible for sales slump

More evidence of consumers clamping down on spending even as fast food chains remain aggressive in their efforts to lure customers in with deals and value meals.

McDonald's reported a 3.6% drop in first quarter sales at U.S. restaurants during the latest quarter. That was the biggest same-store sales contraction at its domestic restaurants since the peak pandemic quarter ended in June 2020. It was also twice the drop Wall Street analysts had expected.

The fast food giant blamed "negative comparable guest counts" for the poor sales. That tone was a strikingly stark contrast to the "slightly positive" traffic that McDonald's saw at its U.S. restaurants in the fourth quarter of last year – even when the restaurant chain battled an E. coli outbreak across 14 states last October.

Those struggling sales led to the company's third revenue miss in four quarters as first quarter revenues of $5.96 billion missed Wall Street expectations of $6.09 billion.

— Robert Hum

Weekly jobless claims surge to 241,000, more than expected

Initial unemployment claims last week in a potential trouble sign for the wobbling U.S. economy.

First-time filings for unemployment insurance totaled a seasonally adjusted 241,000 for the week ending April 26, up 18,000 from the prior period and higher than the Dow Jones estimate for 225,000, the  Thursday. This was the highest total since Feb. 22.

Continuing claims, which run a week behind and provide a broader view of layoff trends, rose to 1.92 million, up 83,000 to the highest level since Nov. 13, 2021.

— Jeff Cox

Truist upgrades ServiceNow, says stock can rally more than 25%

Truist expects a recovery rally ahead for .

Analyst Joel Fishbein upgraded the software stock to buy from hold and hiked his price target by $250 to $1,200. With that lift, Fishbein expects shares to surge 25.7% over Wednesday's close.

Shares popped more than 2% before the bell on Thursday following the upgrade. That's a bright spot for the stock, which has slid nearly 10% in 2025.

"We believe that NOW is a rare compounder that will be able to leverage their platform architecture to power durable growth via both upsell and cross-sell of products into the largest companies in the world," Fishbein wrote to clients in a Thursday note. "We see this year's pullback as an opportunity to put new money to work in shares."

Fishbein added that ServiceNow should be able to keep consolidating its information technology stack. On top of that, he said the company should be able to use both artificial intelligence and uncertainty in the macroeconomy to improve its positioning against other vendors.

— Alex Harring

Stocks making the biggest moves before the bell: Microsoft, CVS Health and more

These are the stocks moving the most in premarket trading:

•  — The tech giant jumped nearly 9% after  driven by its Azure cloud business.
•  — The pharmacy retailer climbed 8% after reporting  of $2.25 per share, which exceeded the $1.70 per share analysts polled by LSEG had expected.
•  — Shares popped 6% after the social media company reported  of $6.43 on revenue of $42.31 billion. This beat analysts' expectations of $5.28 per share on $41.40 billion in revenue, according to LSEG.

Read the full list of stocks moving .

— Lisa Kailai Han

McDonald's shares fall after company misses on revenue as U.S. same-store sales decline

Shares of were under pressure on Thursday morning after first-quarter revenue came in below expectations.

The fast food chain reported $2.67 in adjusted earnings per share on $5.96 billion of revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were looking for $2.66 per share on $6.09 billion of revenue.

U.S. year over year, the biggest decline since the second-quarter of 2020.

The stock was last down about 1%. The company will hold a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET.

— Jesse Pound, Amelia Lucas

General Motors cuts full-year outlook, expects a tariffs hit of at least $4 billion

slashed its guidance for the full year on Thursday after the company said earlier in the week that it was amid uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump's auto tariffs.

The Detroit automaker now expects adjusted earnings before interest and taxes for the year to come in between $10 billion and $12.5 billion, it disclosed in a . That's down from its prior guidance of $13.7 billion to $15.7 billion.

Additionally, it expects its net income attributable to stockholders to be between $8.2 billion and $10.1 billion, down from the $11.2 billion to $12.5 billion that it previously called for.

GM's updated outlook includes an estimated tariff-related impact of between $4 billion and $5 billion, the company said. This comes after Trump's went into effect April 3.

— Sean Conlon

Planned layoffs eased in April as DOGE cuts plunged

The pace of announced layoffs fell in April as Elon Musk's efforts to pare down the federal workforce tailed off, according to a report Thursday from outplacement form Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Planned job cuts totaled 105,441 for the month, down 62% from April though still the highest total for the month since 2020. Government job cuts specifically those related to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency totaled just 2,731, bringing the annual tally to 281,452 after totaling 216,215 in March.

Technology led announced reductions in April. The year-to-date level for all sectors is at 602,493, the highest since 2020 and an 87% increase from the same period a year ago.

— Jeff Cox

Tariffs 'overshadow' self-help work at UPS, HSBC says

HSBC moved to the sidelines on , with analyst Parash Jain saying that President Donald Trump's tariffs "overshadow" the delivery company's self-help initiatives.

Jain downgraded the stock to hold from buy and slashed his price target by $35 to $105. Still, Jain's new target implies 10.2% in upside over Wednesday's close.

"We believe tariff uncertainties will remain an overhang on UPS' short-term demand outlook and share price," Jain told clients.

Jain's call comes after UPS this week said it would That workforce reduction comes as the delivery giant contends with macroeconomic challenges and an expected decline in volumes from , its largest customer.

UPS beat FactSet consensus expectations on both lines for the first quarter when reporting on Tuesday. But the company did not provide updates on its full-year outlook, citing uncertainty around the macro backdrop.

— Alex Harring

Japanese and Australian markets rise following choppy trade on Wall Street; most Asian markets closed for holiday

Japanese and Australian markets rose Thursday after swings on Wall Street overnight, as data pointing to a contraction in the U.S. economy in the first quarter heightened investors' fears of a looming recession.

Several Asia-Pacific markets, including South Korea, Hong Kong, China and India were closed for the Labor Day holiday.

Japan's benchmark climbed 1.13% to end the day at 36,452.30 while the broader Topix index edged 0.46% higher to 2,679.44. Earlier in the day, the Bank of Japan .

Yields on 10-year Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs) fell by 5.4 basis points to 1.259% following the central bank's decision. Meanwhile, yields on 20-year JGBs dropped marginally by 1.5 basis points to 2.184%.

The Japanese yen depreciated 1.06% to 144.58 per dollar.

Over in Australia, the benchmark ended the day 0.24% higher at 8,145.60. The movement comes ahead of Australia's elections on Saturday and marks the index's fifth consecutive session in positive territory.

— Amala Balakrishner

Tesla shares fall on report that company’s board opened search for CEO to replace Elon Musk

Shares of  fell more than 3% in overnight trading on Robinhood following a that its board has initiated a search for a new chief executive to succeed Elon Musk.

The move comes as the electric vehicle giant's sales and profits have been declining rapidly.

Read the full story, .

— Amala Balakrishner

Stocks, dollar more likely to gain in Trump's next 100 days, Capital Economics says

President Trump's next 100 days in office are likelier to prove more favorable to U.S. stocks as the administration turns its attention to fiscal policy, Capital Economics' chief markets economist John Higgins wrote Tuesday.

Chaotic policy is the obvious answer to why stocks and the dollar did so poorly in Trump's first three months, but lofty valuations and Chin'a emerging threat to U.S. "dominance of AI" are others, Higgins wrote.

"How things pan out over the next hundred days in the U.S. and elsewhere will partly hinge on whether U.S. markets (Treasuries in particular) and Corporate America continue to act as effective guardrails against Trump's policies, as they appear to have done since April 2," the economist added. "If that is the case, it's conceivable that U.S. equities and even the dollar will recover ground as his administration's focus shifts from tariffs and trade to fiscal policy."

Successfully addressing government spending, however, depends on agreement on a fiscal package "fairly soon, given the risk of a debt ceiling crisis this summer."

— Scott Schnipper

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours

Check out some of the companies making headlines in extended trading:

• — Stock in the technology behemoth climbed more than 6% on the heels of third-quarter results on the top and bottom lines. Microsoft earned $3.46 per share on revenue of $70.07 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG were looking for a profit of $3.22 per share and $68.42 billion in revenue.

• — Shares of the Facebook parent advanced more than 5%. Meta beat analysts' first-quarter estimates when it reported earnings of $6.43 per share and revenue of $42.31 billion. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were expecting a profit of $5.28 per share on revenue of $41.40 billion. Meta also upped its full-year capital expenditures to $64 billion from $72 billion in order to continue investing in data centers to power artificial intelligence. Shares of gained more than 2% on the heels of Meta's spending plans.

• — Stock in the e-commerce company gained more than 2% following news that Amazon plans to in building out its last-mile delivery network in small towns.

Read the full list .

— Brian Evans

Stock futures rise

U.S. stock futures were higher on Wednesday, as investors parsed fresh corporate earnings from technology firms like Meta Platforms and Microsoft.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 added 0.5%, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.8%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 67 points, or 0.1%.

— Brian Evans