New York (AFP) – Wall Street stocks rallied Thursday after strong results from Microsoft and Facebook parent Meta offset lingering worries about an economic slowdown. Microsoft surged 7.6 percent following results showcasing how a strong performance in cloud computing and artificial intelligence lifted sales, while Meta advanced 4.2 percent after earnings topped expectations as business spending on ads remained strong. With such large equities posting gains on this scale, “it’s pretty much impossible for the markets not to rally,” said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.2 percent at 40,752.96. The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.6 percent to 5,604.14, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.5 percent to 17,710.74. US stocks have been on an upswing over the last week or so as President Donald Trump’s administration touts progress on talks with trading partners over his wide-ranging tariffs. But investors remain anxious about the economic outlook amid concerns that Trump’s trade wars are delaying corporate investment and depressing consumer spending.
On Thursday, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing index slipped to 48.7 percent in April, a touch below its level in March, and below the 50-point mark separating expansion from contraction. Businesses responding to the survey flagged Trump’s trade policy rollout as a key cause for concern. Meanwhile, an updated forecast from S&P Global Ratings lowered the 2025 economic growth forecast for the United States, saying, “we see a material slowdown in growth, but do not foresee a US recession at this juncture.”
Among individual companies, McDonald’s dropped 1.9 percent after reporting lower profits, with comparable sales at US restaurants falling 3.6 percent amid less traffic from low- and medium-income customers. Qualcomm sank 8.9 percent despite solid quarterly results across its artificial intelligence-oriented business due to disappointment with the tech company’s outlook. Hyatt Hotels rose 5.3 percent despite lowering its full-year profit forecast as it pointed to “continued strong demand we’re seeing for our brands around the world.”
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