Stocks Rebound into Positive Territory
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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — A surge in Facebook shares helped the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite to a nearly 2-percent rebound Thursday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a triple-digit bounce back as well.
On Wednesday, the blue chips index dropped nearly 200 points after the Federal Reserve announced it is continuing to pull back a bit on its bond buying stimulus program.
For only the second time in the last eight days that the industrial average has finished in positive territory, the Dow closed the day up 109 points at 15,848.61. The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed the session at 4,123.13.
Investors Thursday were cheered by news that the economy grew 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter of last year. Additionally, there were a number of strong earnings reports and what some analysts are calling the Facebook halo effect.
Facebook shares surged more than 14 percent Thursday after reporting blockbuster earnings. Fifty-three percent of the company’s ad revenues are now coming from mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Over the last six months, shares of the social network have jumped more than 60 percent.
Under Armour was another big winner in Thursday trading. The athletic apparel maker is cheering this brutal winter because the company’s sales jumped 28 percent last quarter due, in part, to strong sales driven by the growing popularity of the brand’s cold weather sports apparel. The stock Thursday is up 23 percent — almost $20 a share.
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