The S&P 500 Index rose higher on Thursday after Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, further improving technology sentiment following broad sector layoffs in recent weeks. The Nasdaq Composite also soared over 3% on that increased sentiment, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped lower as pressured Merck (NYSE: MRK) shares weighed on the benchmark.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +1.47% or +60.52 points to 4,179.73
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.12% or -39.22 points to 34,053.74
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +3.25% or +384.50 points to 12,200.82
Meta shares soared over 23% on Thursday in one of its best day in over a decade after the social media giant posted a quarterly revenue beat and announced a surprise $40 billion stock buyback. "Our management theme for 2023 is the 'Year of Efficiency' and we're focused on becoming a stronger and more nimble organization," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement.
Shares of Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) jumped and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) jumped over 7%, while Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) gained over 3% on Meta's strength. All three of these tech giants are also set to deliver quarterly earnings after closing bell.
In other earnings news, Merck & Co shares fell over 3% despite the pharmaceutical giant's better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings after it issued weak outlook. Merck forecasts full-year adjusted earnings of $6.80 to $6.95 per share, below analyst expectations, with the company noting that outlook was impacted by taxes related to its $1.35 billion acquisition of cancer drug developer Imago BioSciences.
Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) shares fell over 3% after its fourth-quarter revenue came in slightly below estimates at $7.3 billion. The drug maker also lifted its full-year profit forecasts for earnings.
Healthcare stocks were also under pressure on Thursday after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released early plan for lower-than-expected rates for Medicare Advantage plans in 2024. UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) and Humana (NYSE: HUM) shares dropped about 5%, while Cigna (NYSE: CI) fell 3% and CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) declined 1.5%.
Elsewhere for stocks, Carvana (NASDAQ: CVNA) rallied as much as 33% Thursday morning before pairing gains later in the session in an expected short-squeeze. Share of the used car platform have rallied over 100% over the past five trading sessions. Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) shares soared nearly 24% after a Manhattan federal judge dismisses a class-action lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange.
More companies also joined the broad layoff trend on Thursday. FedEx (NYSE: FDX) announced it is laying off 10% of its officers and directors. Analysts at Citi (NYSE: C) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) both upgraded to stock to Buy from Neutral, saying that this decision will help the shipping company bring its costs under control. Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA) shares rose over 6% after the cloud software company announced it was cutting 5% of its workforce.
In economic news, initial unemployment filings fell to 183,000 for the week ended Jan. 28, according to data from the Labor Department out Thursday, below the 195,000 expected as the labor market remains strong against raising interest rates.
Looking ahead, all eyes will be on January's jobs report due out Friday morning, with economists expecting non-farm payrolls to added 187,000 positions. In December, the U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs.