Dow Finishes Higher as S&P 500 and Nasdaq Decline - TheStreet
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished higher on Thursday, Feb. 1, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq declining slightly. Investors were anticipating earnings from Apple Inc. (AAPL) , Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) , all reporting after the bell. The Dow was up 37 points, a gain of 0.14%. The S&P 500 was 0.07% lower and the Nasdaq was down by 0.35%. Stocks finished higher on Wednesday, Jan. 31, getting a lift from Boeing Co. ( BA) but wavered in and out of positive territory during the afternoon after the Federal Reserve decided not to raise interest rates. Boeing on Thursday was the leading gainer on the Dow.
Shares of Facebook Inc. (FB) rose 3% on Thursday after the social networking giant beat fourth-quarter earnings and revenue estimates but said users were spending less time on the site. Adjusted earnings in the quarter were 96 cents a share, well above forecasts of 87 cents. Revenue increased 12% to $28.9 billion, topping expectations of $28.4 billion.
Cloud computing lifted Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) to a fiscal second-quarter earnings beat and the stock traded up 0.8% on Thursday.
Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) posted fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations but the chipmaker forecast second-quarter profit that came in below estimates. The stock fell 2%.
DowDuPont Inc. (DWDP) shares fell 2.7% after the company posted an earnings and revenue beat in the fourth quarter.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. ( BABA) posted fourth-quarter earnings that fell short of some market forecasts but boosted its 2018 revenue guidance as it unveiled plans take a major stake in Ant Financial Services Group Ltd., a payment affiliate that was recently blocked from buying U.S.-based MoneyGram International Inc. ( MGI) . Alibaba fell 6%. United Parcel Service Inc. ( UPS) also slumped 6% after the shipping company said higher costs trimmed earnings.Apple will publish its much-anticipated first-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Thursday, with investors from around the world waiting to hear how its flagship iPhone X sales fared over the Christmas quarter. The Wall Street consensus for company revenue is $87.1 billion and earnings per share of $3.84, a 14% increase from the same three-month period a year earlier.
PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL) shares plunged 8% on Thursday, while eBay Inc. (EBAY) jumped 13% after the online marketplace said it wouldn't extend an agreement with PayPal as it looks to develop a new partnership with Dutch provider Adyen BV.
Credit card company Mastercard Inc. (MA) reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street expectations. The stock gained 2%.
Ford Motor Co. (F) said sales in January fell 6.6%, narrower than estimates of a 7.3% decline. The stock declined 0.4% on Thursday.
Sales in January for General Motors Co. (GM) rose 1.4% but came in below forecasts of up 4.2%. GM shares rose slightly.
The U.S. dollar index was active following the Federal Reserve's decision on Wednesday to hold steady on interest rates but and after the central bank issued a somewhat hawkish inflation outlook. The index, which benchmarks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, fell 0.36% to 88.79, while 10-year U.S. Treasury yields rose to 2.75%..
Weekly U.S. jobless claims in the U.S. fell by 1,000 to 230,000, with claims remaining near a 45-year low.
U.S. productivity declined in the fourth quarter by 0.1%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, falling shy of economists' forecasts that had called for an increase of 0.2%.
The Institute for Supply Management for January fell to 59.1 from 59.3 in December.
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