-- The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite hit new closing highs on Thursday, with the two equity indexes recording their biggest monthly gains since 2020.
The S&P 500 rose 1% to 7,209, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.9% to 24,892.3, both logging record closing highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.6% to 49,652.1. Barring technology, all sectors were in the green, led by communication services' 4% jump.
This month, the Nasdaq jumped 15.3%, logging its best monthly performance since April 2020. The S&P 500 gained 10.4%, the biggest monthly gain since November 2020. The Dow climbed 7.1%.
In company news, Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) first-quarter results exceeded Wall Street's estimates late Wednesday as revenue for Google's cloud and services businesses climbed. Alphabet increased its 2026 capital expenditure guidance to up to $190 billion. Shares climbed 10%.
Caterpillar (CAT) surged 9.9%, the best performer on the Dow. The heavy equipment manufacturer raised its full-year sales outlook as its first-quarter results exceeded market expectations.
Eli Lilly (LLY) lifted its full-year outlook, while the drugmaker reported first-quarter results above market estimates. The stock advanced 9.8%.
Meta Platforms (META) shares plunged 8.6%, among the steepest declines on the S&P 500. The Facebook parent late Wednesday raised its full-year capital expenditure guidance mainly due to higher component pricing.
Microsoft (MSFT) shares declined 3.9%, the second-worst performer on the Dow, as the tech giant said late Wednesday its capital expenditure will be about $190 billion in 2026. The company's aggressive capital expenditure will likely keep free cash flow under pressure in the near term, Truist Securities said in a note.
Brent crude fell 3.3% at $114.09 per barrel, having topped $126 earlier in the day. West Texas Intermediate fell 1.8% to $105.01.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark lending rate steady, saying the Iran war is fueling uncertainty around the US economic outlook.
The most recent policy statement had an implied easing bias, but that could soon be removed amid a growing divide among policymakers over the direction of interest rates, Stifel said in a note Thursday.
US Treasury yields were lower, with the 10-year rate down 2.4 basis points at 4.41% and the two-year rate falling 7.8 basis points to 3.89%.
US economic growth fell short of Wall Street's expectations in the first quarter as spending slowed amid inflationary pressures that economists said will likely keep consumers under pressure.
"The core of the economy remained solid in (the first quarter), driven by the (artificial intelligence) buildout and the tax cuts beginning to feed through," Oxford Economics Chief US Economist Michael Pearce said in remarks emailed to. "Those factors will continue to drive growth over the rest of the year, but the jump in energy prices will take some of the shine off what would otherwise have been a strong year for the economy."
Separate official data showed that US inflation, as measured by the personal consumption expenditure price index, accelerated in March to the fastest pace since mid-2022 as the Middle East conflict sent energy prices soaring.
"Inflationary pressures continued to percolate," Ksenia Bushmeneva, economist at TD Economics, said in a report. "The situation around the energy crisis remains uncertain and gas prices are likely to remain elevated for some time."
Gold rose 1.6% at $4,635 per troy ounce, while silver advanced 2.9% to $74.18 per ounce.