Stocks Ended Slightly Higher amid Earnings Deluge

U.S. stocks ended slightly higher on Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite marking a fresh record, during an busy day of corporate quarterly results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 6.24 points, or 0.03%, to 20,981.33. The S&P 500 advanced 1.32 points, or 0.06%, to 2,388.77. The Nasdaq gained 23.71 points, or 0.39%, to 6,048.94.

Oil prices fell Thursday, with U.S. prices ending at their lowest level in about a month, as growing concerns over rising U.S. production and the restart of Libya’s largest oil field rattled the market. June West Texas Intermediate crude slid by 65 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $48.97 a barrel. Brent for the same month lost 38 cents, or 0.7%, to $51.44 a barrel.

Microsoft Corp (MSFT) on Thursday reported quarterly revenue that slightly missed analysts’ estimates. The company’s net income rose to $4.80 billion, or 61 cents per share, in the third quarter ended March 31, from $3.76 billion, or 47 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue on an adjusted basis climbed 6 percent to $23.56 billion.

Google parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL) posted a 29 percent rise in quarterly profit, driven by a surge in advertising on mobiles and its popular YouTube video service. Alphabet’s net income rose to $5.43 billion, or $7.73 per Class A and B share and Class C capital stock, in the first quarter ended March 31 from $4.21 billion, or $6.02 per share, a year earlier.

Intel Corp (INTC), the world’s largest chipmaker, reported lower-than-expected revenue for the first quarter, as its crucial data centre business missed analysts’ estimates. Revenue from Intel’s higher-margin data centre business rose 6 percent to $4.2 billion in the quarter.

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) on Thursday reported fiscal second-quarter profit of $652.8 million. It had net income of 45 cents per share. The results matched Wall Street expectations. The coffee chain posted revenue of $5.29 billion in the period, missing Street forecasts.

Amazon (AMZN) announced its Q1 financial results: Revenue of $35.71 billion versus estimates of $35.3 billion. This compares to $29.1 billion a year ago. EPS of $1.48 vs. estimates of $1.13 per share, non-GAAP. This compares with non-GAAP EPS of $1.07 per share a year ago.

United Parcel Service Inc (UPS) reported a higher-than-expected quarterly net profit. UPS said revenue increased to $15.315 billion in the first quarter from $14.418 billion in the year-ago period.It posted first-quarter net income of $1.158 billion, or $1.32 per share, up 2.4 percent from $1.131 billion, or $1.27 per share, a year earlier.