US equities rose on Thursday following a stronger-than-expected GDP reading, but Big Tech profits have continued to fall short of forecasts.
On an annualized basis, US GDP increased 2.6% in the third quarter. Although it can be seen as a positive data point for the economy, it also allows the Federal Reserve, which is battling decades-high inflation, to raise rates further.
In the meantime, Meta’s stock fell more than 23% in the early hours of Thursday as a result of Wednesday’s disappointing earnings. It takes the example of Alphabet and Microsoft, whose shares also fell after their quarterly reports. All Big Tech companies are suffering as a result of declining advertising revenue.
Here’s what else is happening today:
- The second consecutive large increase in interest rates was 75 basis points by the European Central Bank.
- After the ailing bank disclosed a significant loss and promised to restructure its operations, shares of Credit Suisse fell.
- Mark Zuckerberg is spending billions on Facebook’s identity crisis, but he’s cool with it. Although Zuckerberg predicted that Meta’s metaverse wager would continue to lose money, he added that patient investors would benefit from the “historic” venture.
- Friday’s trade in Twitter shares will be halted as Elon Musk gets closer to completing his takeover.
- Mega-cap tech stocks are about to decline as investors “scream for financial discipline” following the profits of industry titans like Alphabet and Meta.
