Stocks Opened Higher on Strong Tech Earnings

U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday as the latest round of corporate earnings gave further support to equity valuations, particularly in the technology sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 72.49 points, or 0.30%, to 24,156.32. The S&P 500 added 11.18 points, or 0.42%, to 2,650.58. The Nasdaq Composite gained 61.62 points, or 0.88%, to 7,065.36.

The rate of layoffs in the U.S. fell in late April to the lowest level since 1969, yet another sign a roaring labor market shows no sign of cooling off. Initial jobless claims fell by 24,000 to 209,000 in the week ended April 21, the government said Thursday.

Orders for long-lasting or “durable” goods jumped 2.6% in March, riding a big increase in contracts for Boeing planes. Stripping out planes and cars, orders minus transportation were unchanged, the government said Thursday.

The trade deficit in goods narrowed 10.3% to $68 billion, according to the government’s advanced report released Thursday. Imports fell 2.1% in March and the declines were widespread. Exports rose 2.4% during the month.

Facebook reported earnings of $1.69 per share on $11.97 billion in revenues for the quarter, that beat Wall Street’s estimates. The social network also reported 2.2 billion monthly active users worldwide — a bit higher than the expected 2.19 billion monthly active users — and 1.45 billion daily active users.

General Motors Co (GM.N) on Thursday reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit despite a drop in production of high-margin pickup trucks. The company reported quarterly net income of $1.05 billion or $1.43 per share, a drop of nearly 60 percent from $2.61 billion or $1.75 per share a year earlier. Revenue in the quarter totaled $36.1 billion, down from $37.3 billion in the first quarter of 2017.