The tech-heavy Nasdaq and other U.S. stock indexes breathed a sigh of relief on Friday morning after a big selloff the day before, thanks partly to strong earnings by Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet. Google reported an almost 60% surge in profits in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, and Microsoft earnings got a boost from AI and cloud services.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 127 points, or about 0.3%, to 38,213 shortly before midday. The Nasdaq was up308 points, or almost 2%, And the S&P gained 1%.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.67%. West Texas Intermediate futures traded around $84.20 a barrel, up 0.8%.
Google stock soars on big profits and first-ever cash dividend
In its latest earnings report, Google parent Alphabet reported a surge in profits of nearly 60% in the first quarter . The tech giant also announced its first-ever cash dividend of 20 cents per share, to be paid to investors this summer.
Alphabet stock was up about 10% near midday Friday.
Microsoft stock rises on AI growth
Shares of Microsoft rose on Friday after the company reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates. The tech giant reported earnings per share of $2.94, compared to an expected $2.82 per share. The company expects fourth-quarter revenue to range between $63.5 billion and $64.5 billion.
The company highlighted the growth of its cloud computing business and its efforts to bring AI technology to clients. Microsoft said AI services contributed 7 percentage points to Azure and other cloud services’ revenue growth, up from 6 percentage points in the second quarter.
Microsoft stock was up about 3% near midday.
Intel stock falls on revenue outlook
Intel reported first-quarter earnings results on Thursday after the closing bell, exceeding analysts’ expectations. But the company’s second-quarter outlook fell below Wall Street’s estimates, causing the stock to decline.
Intel projected its second-quarter revenue would be between $12.5 billion and $13.5 billion, falling short of analysts’ expectations of $13.63 billion.
Intel stock was down 8.7% near midday.
AI stocks get back in action
AI stocks were also rising Friday. Nvidia and Super Micro Computer were up more than 5% and 6%, respectively.
That followed the news that OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang have been selected to serve on a new federal AI safety board, which will advise the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on protecting the economy, healthcare, and other industries from threats posed by AI.
-Britney Nguyen and Laura Bratton contributed to this article.