EDITOR'S NOTE
The S&P 500 clinched a new closing record on Thursday, rising just shy of 0.7% to end the day at 4,211.47. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 239.98 points, climbing to 34,060.36.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also ended the day in positive territory, inching to 14,082.55, a gain of 0.2%.
Amazon released first-quarter results after the bell, beating analysts’ expectations.
The e-commerce giant posted earnings per share of $15.79 on revenue of $108.52 billion. Analysts polled by Refinitiv expected a profit of $9.54 per share on revenue of $104.47 billion. 
More than half of S&P 500 companies have now reported results for the previous quarter, and the blended year-over-year earnings growth rate stands around 44%, FactSet data shows.
Indeed, the I-word – inflation – is beginning to creep into companies’ results and into strategists’ conversations.
Inflation isn’t necessarily bad news – if companies can find a way to pass the expense onto the consumer. Nonetheless, it’s something economists and investors are watching as the recovery continues.
“If share prices are being driven by the possibility that second-half earnings growth is even stronger than anticipated, the worry is we may be underestimating the growth in inflation,” said Sam Stovall, CFRA chief investment strategist.
Strong earnings results aren’t the only sign that the economy is getting back on its feet. First-quarter gross domestic product grew at a 6.4% rate, while last week’s initial jobless claims slid to a fresh pandemic-era low of 553,000. TOP NEWS
TOP VIDEO
CNBC PRO
SPECIAL REPORTS
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
