Stocks rose on Thursday as investors looked beyond a weak set of economic data and a mixed batch of corporate earnings results. Traders also considered a Federal Reserve decision that signaled the central bank was still looking for the U.S. economy to recover further before adjusting its monetary policies.
The S&P 500 and Dow gained to reach record levels Thursday afternoon. The Nasdaq also increased, though declines in some technology stocks capped gains for the index.The market moves came despite a weaker-than-expected print on second-quarter U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), and a report that showed weekly unemployment claims came in higher than expected.
“It remains a question mark whether the coming deceleration in the economy’s advance from peak growth will be a soft landing or perhaps something more sudden and potentially more jarring for companies and consumers,” Chris Rupkey, chief economist for FWDBonds, wrote in an email Thursday morning. “Keep your eye on consumer and business confidence.”
Shares of Facebook (FB) dipped after the company said it saw a sales deceleration in the second half of the year and suggested an Apple iOS app-tracking update would negatively impact its core advertising business.
