Stocks had a positive day after the U.S. GDP report showed a strong bounce back from the equally sharp contraction seen in the prior quarter. The Nasdaq was the leaded among the indexes as shares of Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL) and Facebook (FB) all rose ahead of the earnings reports coming from the quartet of tech titans after the closing bell.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., third quarter GDP growth surged 33.1%, bouncing from the 31.4% contraction in the second quarter. Initial jobless claims fell 40,000 to 751,000 in the week ended October 24.
On the stimulus front, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter dated today to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that she's awaiting the Trump Administration's "promised responses on multiple items of critical importance." She added, "Your responses are critical for our negotiations to continue."
In Europe, the ECB maintained the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility. In addition, the ECB stated along with its monetary policy decisions: "The new round of Eurosystem staff macroeconomic projections in December will allow a thorough reassessment of the economic outlook and the balance of risks. On the basis of this updated assessment, the Governing Council will recalibrate its instruments, as appropriate, to respond to the unfolding situation and to ensure that financing conditions remain favourable to support the economic recovery and counteract the negative impact of the pandemic on the projected inflation path."
TOP NEWS: Gilead (GILD) shares slipped fractionally after the company reported upbeat results but narrowed its earnings and product sales guidance for fiscal 2020. Of note, the company said that it expects its core business to continue gradually recovering heading into the fourth quarter and first half of 2021. Following the results, several analysts cut their price targets on Gilead, with BMO Capital's Matthew Luchini saying that the updated revenue and earnings guidance was due to lower than expected demand for Veklury, the company's COVID-19 drug.
Shares of Ford (F) gained 2.3% after the car maker reported better than expected Q3 results, with the company saying it now expects positive adjusted company EBIT for FY20.
Also in positive territory following its quarterly report was Visa (V), whose shares were 2% higher following its upbeat Q4 results. Though several analysts lowered their price targets on the stock following the report, Morgan Stanley's James Faucette said that the card company's momentum heading into the December quarter is "promising."
Pinterest (PINS) shares surged 28.2% higher after the company reported better than expected Q3 results, with global monthly active users rising 37% year-over-year in the quarter. Following the report, JPMorgan and MKM Partners upgraded the stock to Buy-equivalent ratings, with MKM's Rohit Kulkarni saying the "big" Q3 earnings beat and above-consensus Q4 guidance demonstrates that the company's trend of accelerating user growth and monetization is "clearly sustainable."
Meanwhile, eBay (EBAY), shares fell 7.5% after the company reported lower than expected Q3 results and provided conservative guidance for Q4 and FY20, although Stifel said the guidance picture may have been confused by the company starting to consider its Classifieds segment as discontinued operations.
In M&A news, Marvell Technology (MRVL) confirmed plans to acquire Inphi Corporation (IPHI) in a cash and stock deal. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, the transaction consideration will consist of $66 in cash and 2.323 shares of stock of the combined company for each Inphi share. Upon closing of the transaction, Marvell shareholders will own approximately 83% of the combined company and Inphi stockholders will own approximately 17%. Shares of Inphi jumped 26.7% after the takeover news.
Additionally, the Wall Street Journal reported that Juul Labs CEO K.C. Crosthwaite said in a memo to staff Thursday that the e-cigarette maker, which was valued at $38B two years ago, now has dropped its valuation to about $10B. Juul is 35% owned by Altria (MO), The Fly notes.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Alliance Data (ADS), which rose over 19% after it reported upbeat quarterly results and announced a deal to acquire technology-driven digital payments company Bread for $450M. Also higher was Sanderson Farms (SAFM), which gained 3.4% after announcing that it had rejected an unsolicited, "highly conditional and opportunistic" proposal from Durational Capital Management, a new shareholder, to acquire the company for $142 per share.
Among the notable losers was Tricida (TCDA), which dropped 47.2% after announcing that it held an End-of-Review conference as a Type A meeting with the Division of Cardiology and Nephrology of the FDA on October 20. Also lower were 1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS), Nokia (NOK), and Spotify (SPOT), which fell 15.3%, 17.4%, and 3.4%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: The Dow rose 139.16, or 0.52%, to 26,659.11, the Nasdaq gained 180.73, or 1.64%, to 11,185.59, and the S&P 500 advanced 39.08, or 1.19%%, to 3,310.11.
