NASDAQ Rises to Record High after Strong After-hours Earnings Reports

U.S. equity markets closed higher on Thursday as investors awaited earnings reports from several major tech companies. The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and the benchmark S&P 500 Index straddled their opening price most of the session, while the tech-laden NASDAQ Composite finishes decisively higher at a record high.

Before the opening, the major stock indexes were supported by Comcast, which reported better-than-expected quarterly profit of 53 cents per share. Revenue also came in above the forecast. PayPal and Amazon also underpinned prices early in the session. This helped boost the information technology sector to rise, contributing to the S&P 500 Index’s early gains. However, gains were limited by a more than 1 percent drop in the energy sector which weighed on the overall index.

Some investors blamed the lackluster performance in the Dow and S&P 500 on President Donald Trump’s tax reform plan, released the day before. Although the Trump Administration called the proposal the “biggest tax cut” in U.S. history, many doubted the validity of this statement because of the lack of details provided in the plan.

IN BREAKING NEWS:  During the after-hours session, the NASDAQ 100 surged in response to strong earnings from Amazon.com and Google parent Alphabet. Gains may have been capped by weak performances by Microsoft and Intel.

Amazon.com surged more than 4 percent in the late trading session after reporting earnings per share and revenue well above expectations. Alphabet also topped expectations on both the top and bottom line, sending its shares more than 4.5 percent higher.

Microsoft stock dropped about 3 percent in the extended trade after revenue came in below expectations. Intel was also down about 3.5 percent after it missed on revenue also.

Economic News

In U.S. economic news, durable goods orders rose a less-than-expected 0.7 percent in March. Pending Home Sales fell 0.8 percent in March and Weekly Jobless Claims increased more than expected to 257,000.

Crude Oil

U.S. West Texas intermediate and internationally-favored Brent crude oil finished lower on Thursday and are in a position to close marginally lower for the second consecutive week. Traders continue to raise concerns that an OPEC-led production cut has failed to trim the current supply glut. Although crude oil inventories drew down the previous week, the size of gasoline stockpiles suggests that buyers will have a hard time driving crude prices higher.