Stocks Ended Higher on Earnings Optimism

U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday, boosted by solid earnings results and a rebound in technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 238.51 points, or 0.99%, to 24,322.34. The S&P 500 gained 27.54 points, or 1.04 %, to 2,666.94. The Nasdaq Composite added 114.94 points, or 1.64%, to 7,118.68.

Oil futures ended higher Thursday, as traders looked beyond a surprise increase in U.S. supplies, and instead focused on the possibility that the U.S. will reimpose sanctions on Iran. June West Texas Intermediate crude rose 14 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $68.19 a barrel. Global benchmark June Brent added 74 cents, or 1%, to $74.74 a barrel.

Microsoft (MSFT) announced its Q3 2018 financial results on Thursday, and they beat expectations.The tech giant posted earnings of $0.95 per share on $26.8 billion of revenue.

Starbucks Corp’s sales at established cafes in its U.S.-dominated Americas region grew slightly more than expected in the latest quarter. Sales at Americas region cafes open at least 13 months rose 2 percent in the second quarter ended April 1, Starbucks said Thursday.

Amazon (AMZN) posted first-quarter 2018 earnings on Thursday afternoon that surpassed Wall Street expectations. The Seattle tech giant reported earnings of $3.27 per share on $51 billion in revenues for the quarter.