Meta triggers market surge
Megatech earnings continued to fuel the American markets as Meta/Facebook’s strong quarterly beat sparked a rally on Thursday. Meta soared 17.59% to return it above $200 after sliding in recent weeks. Its momentum helped lift the S&P 2.48%, the Nasdaq 3.06% and the Dow 1.85%, even as the U.S. 10-year yield inched up to 2.84%. There was green across the screen and all sectors, led by tech. Major movers were Amazon, up 4.37% ahead of its report late Thursday, Alphabet(C) at 3.81% which reported a more mixed quarter than Meta, Thermo Fisher jumping 7.64%, ServiceNow up 7.91% and Lam Research adding 6.01%.
Major laggards included Stanley Black & Decker at -8.61%, Comcast at -6.29% and Teledoc -40.15% after a rough quarter and forecast. Bitcoin added 3% to almost touch $40,000. The rally nearly overshadowed news that U.S. GDP surprisingly contracted in Q1.
The TSX also rallied, up 1.82%, partially driven by a bounce well over 3% in crude oil prices to $105.50 for WTI and $92.25 for WCS. All the Toronto sectors rose, except for a modest decline in telcos. Tech alone jumped 5%. An activist investor descended on Suncor which pushed shares up 12%. Fire & Flower was another big gainer, up 10.22%, while Lightspeed advanced 8.72% and Shopify rose 6.47%.
🕵️♂️ Meta Platforms Inc / Facebook (FB-Q) +17.59%
📦 Amazon.com (AMZN-Q) +4.37%
🧮 Alphabet Inc. / Google (GOOG-Q) +3.81%
🩺 Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO-N) +7.64%
🖨 Servicenow (NOW-N) +7.91%
🧬 Lam Research Corp (LRCX-Q) +6.01%
🔌 Stanley Works, The (SWK-N) -8.61%
📡 Comcast Corp (CMCSA-Q) -6.29%
👩⚕️ Teladoc Inc (TDOC-N) -40.15%
🅱 Bitcoin (BTCUSD) (CRYPTO:BTC) +3%
🛢 Suncor Energy Inc (SU-T) +12%
🌿 Fire & Flower Holdings (FAF-T) +10.22%
💾 Lightspeed Commerce Inc (LSPD-T) +8.72%
🛍 Shopify Inc. (SHOP-T) +6.47%