Investors piled into tech stocks Thursday, as some strong corporate results had Wall Street on the hunt for beaten-down assets.
Tesla shares surged about 9.8% on the back of a better-than-expected earnings report, despite also posting shrinking automotive gross margins. The stock is still down nearly 23% this year. Big Tech names also leapt, leading the Nasdaq Composite to stand out among the three major averages. “What you’re seeing in the market today is continued potential recovery, some continued potential optimism for numbers not being as bad as feared,” said Robert Cantwell, portfolio manager at Upholdings. “But that’s been happening in the market now for almost a month.” |
Meanwhile, a weaker dollar — following a surprise interest rate hike Thursday from the European Central Bank — also boosted shares of tech companies. The central bank raised benchmark rates for the first time in 11 years, by 50 basis points, to combat inflation.
Still, some pointed to weak economic reports as indicators that markets have yet to hit bottom.
“If overall financial conditions keep tightening on the current path, then that means that macro fair value for US equities will continue to trend lower,” said Huw Roberts, head of analytics at Quant Insight. |
