Tech earnings propel the Nasdaq

The Nasdaq popped 0.81% Thursday as the other New York indices struggled to go positive. (The TSX was modestly green.) The Nasdaq was fueled by a surprise Q3 profit report by Tesla, which soared 17.67% by day’s end.

Facebook started the morning down, but finished even after Democrats grilled CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Capitol Hill Wednesday over cybersecurity and his plans to launch cryptocurrency, Libra. Compared to Twitter, Facebook was on a luxury cruise; Twitter’s earnings report missed both the top and bottom lines which prompted Goldman Sachs to slash its target from $52 to $34. The market hammered down Twitter by 20.86%.

Thursday was just as busy after-hours. Intel shot up after the closing bell after issuing top and bottom line beats in its Q3 earnings report. In complete contrast, Amazon plunged after reporting an earnings miss. Amazon has been spending–perhaps over-spending–hundreds of millions on one-day shipping. Meanwhile, Visa beat EPS and revenues and rose after-hours. Another tech darling, Microsoft, rode its own positive report, released late-Wednesday, rising 1.97%.

🚗 Tesla +17.67%
💬 Twitter -20.86%
🌐 Microsoft +1.97%