Stocks Rose on Technology Earnings

U.S. stocks extended gains into a third session on Thursday, led by tech stocks, as investors bought on relief earnings were largely beating expectations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 34.66 points, or 0.27%, to 12,943.36. The S&P 500 gained 3.73 points, or 0.27%, to 1,376.51. The Nasdaq Composite rose 23.30 points, or 0.79%, to 2,965.90.

Google reported quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations, but revenue fell slightly short.Google (GOOG)posted second-quarter earnings excluding items of $10.12 per share, up from $8.74 a share in the year-earlier period. Net income was $2.79 billion, or $8.42 per share, on a consolidated basis. Revenue rose 21 percent to $8.36 billion, from $6.92 billion a year ago.

Microsoft said Thursday that an accounting adjustment to reflect a weak online ad business led to its first quarterly loss in its 26 years as a public company. The charge led to a $492 million loss in the April-June quarter, or 6 cents a share. That compares with earnings of $5.9 billion, or 69 cents, a year ago. Revenue rose 4 percent to $18.06 billion.

For oil and gas companies, the math was simple in the second quarter: lower prices equaled lower profits. With gasoline prices averaging more than $3.40 per gallon nationwide and oil around $90 a barrel, it may be hard to believe oil companies are under duress. Most will report profits measured in the billions of dollars for the quarter.