STOCK MARKET UPDATES: GDP falls short, Facebook jumps, Amazon earnings
The U.S. economy grew less than expected according to first quarter GDP upping the chances of a recession. Still, stocks are rising after Facebook’s strong results, investors will also digest results from Southwest and American Airlines, as well as Caterpillar and Amazon after the bell. FOX Business is providing real-time updates on the markets, commodities and all the most active stocks on the move.
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A "For Rent, For Sale" sign is seen outside of a home in Washington, U.S., July 7, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose this week for the second week in a row, according to weekly data compiled by mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.
The rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage climbed to 6.43% this week, up from 6.39% a week ago. One year ago, it averaged 5.10%.
"The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased modestly for the second straight week, but with the rate of inflation decelerating rates should gently decline over the course of 2023," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. "Incoming data suggest the housing market has stabilized from a sales and house price perspective,"
Meanwhile, the average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage fell this week to 5.71%. Last week it averaged 5.76%.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., April 17, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
| Symbol | Price | Change | %Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| META | $238.39 | 28.99 | 13.84 |
| GOOG | $108.63 | 4.18 | 4.00 |
| MSFT | $304.63 | 9.26 | 3.14 |
| AMZN | $109.97 | 4.99 | 4.75 |
The tech-heavy Nasdaq led a Wall Street rally on Thursday as a strong quarterly report from Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc overshadowed concerns over slowing U.S. economic growth.
Shares in Meta soared to touch the highest in more than a year after the company forecast quarterly revenue above estimates, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said AI was increasing traffic to Facebook and Instagram and boosting ad sales.
The S&P 500 communication services index rallied sharply. Along with Meta, it got a boost from Alphabet Inc, which reported upbeat results earlier this week, and Comcast, whose results impressed on Thursday.
Shares of other megacaps including Microsoft Corp also rose while Amazon.com Inc rallied ahead of its results, due out after the market closes.
The Lyft Driver Hub is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 20, 2019. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
| Symbol | Price | Change | %Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| LYFT | $10.18 | 0.13 | 1.24 |
Ride-hailing firm Lyft Inc said it will lay off about 1,072 employees, or 26% of its workforce, in one of the first steps by the new Chief Executive David Risher, sending its shares up by about 1% on Thursday.
Risher, who took over earlier this month, had recently said the company will "significantly" cut jobs, without providing the number of jobs that would be affected.
Lyft will also eliminate more than 250 open positions and incur about $41 million to $47 million in costs related to severance and employee benefits in the second quarter, it said in an exchange filing.
The money saved from job cuts will be used to support "service-level improvements" for riders and drivers, Lyft said, promising to offer more details in its first-quarter earnings call on May 4.
| Symbol | Price | Change | %Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| I:COMP | $12,127.66 | 273.31 | 2.31 |
| I:DJI | $33,797.43 | 495.56 | 1.49 |
| SP500 | $4,129.85 | 73.86 | 1.82 |
The Nasdaq Composite jumped over 2% in late afternoon rally fueled by Facebook parent Meta shares which rose nearly 15% after better than expected quarterly results.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tacked on nearly 500 points in tandem.
Facebook parent Meta shares jumped as much as 14% after the social media giant reported its first sales rise in about a year. Revenues hit $28.6 billion a 3% rise and ahead of expectations.
| Symbol | Price | Change | %Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPS | $9.34 | -0.09 | -0.95 |
Gap, owner of Old Navy and Banana Republic, confirmed it will cut 1,800 workers in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In March, the retailer said "it planned to take actions to further simplify and optimize its operating model and structure, including actions such as increasing spans of control and decreasing management layers to improve quality and speed of decision making, as well as creating a consistent organizational structure across all four brands focused on elevating its product and customer experience."
The cuts, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, will impact "headquartered and upper field workforce", the filing detailed.
The battle between Disney and Governor Ron DeSantis is getting even uglier in the latest twist over the entertainment giant's presence in Florida.
Employees working at a manufacturing facility
The U.S. economy rose 1.1% in the first quarter, falling short of estimates, in a sign that a slowdown is underway.
It is also a big pullback from the fourth quarter's 2.6% rise and the third quarter's 3.2% increase, according to the final estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The read may present a conundrum for the Federal Reserve and Chairman Jerome Powell, who frequently touts being data dependent, heading into next week’s May meeting.
Goods for March rose 3.2%, the first increase in three months, blowing past expectations of just 0.7% growth. However, March retail sales data released last week indicated the consumer has dialed back spending, falling 1%, excluding autos, sales slipped 0.8%. More current data, consumer confidence, as tracked by the Conference Board, slipped to a 9-month low in April.
Twitter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk hob-knobbed on Capitol Hill Wednesday meeting with a key lawmaker.
The U.S. economy faced headwinds in the first quarter according to an advance read on gross domestic product.
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