Stock market today: Dow and Nasdaq notch gains on tech-led rally

By Liz Moyer

Investing.com -- Stocks got a jolt from tech stocks after Tesla beat expectations and investors got a better than expected reading of fourth-quarter economic output.

At 16:01 ET (21:01 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 205 points or 0.6%, while the S&P 500 was up 1.1%, and the NASDAQ Composite was up 1.7%.

The indexes are rallying to start the year. The Nasdaq is up 2.7% so far this week and on pace for its best month since last summer.

This is despite negative news from some of the biggest tech companies. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) shares were falling 7% in after-hours trading after missing expectations for earnings.

Economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter compared with the third, a sign the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate increases last year are kicking in. Gross domestic product rose 2.9% in the last three months of the year, beating expectations but slower than the 3.2% reported for the third quarter.

But the labor market remains robust, despite several large technology giants cutting jobs in recent days. Initial jobless claims of 186,000 came in lower than the 205,000 expected for last week and also below the week before that.

The Fed will meet next week to decide on the next step for interest rates, and most expect it will raise by another quarter of a percentage point, which is a smaller increment than at its previous meetings.

Investors have been awaiting the time when the Fed’s interest rate moves will pause or perhaps pivot, though Fed officials have emphasized they want to see the terminal rate above 5% in order to tame inflation. That implies another rate hike or two after next week’s meeting if the Fed meets expectations.

Stocks were getting a lift from Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) better-than-expected results. The electric car maker said recent price cuts have fueled demand for the product, though it also acknowledged challenging economic conditions ahead. Shares of Tesla were up 11%.

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE:LVS) rose 6% after the casino operator reported an 11% gain in revenue in the recent quarter and expressed optimism about demand this year. Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) stock rose 4.8% after the oil major announced a plan to buy back $75 billion of its stock. Chevron reported record profit in recent quarters.