Nasdaq 100 rebound lifts Dow and S&P after PCE data
U.S. stocks bounced Thursday morning as the Nasdaq 100 recovered from Wednesday’s correction slide, with the Dow and S&P 500 also higher. Softer June PCE inflation and a surge in Microsoft shares offset Meta’s post-earnings drop, giving tech-heavy indexes a lift after the Federal Reserve’s rate hold rattled markets.
Key Takeaways
- The Dow rose about 0.5%, the S&P 500 about 0.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite about 1.5% in Thursday morning trade, per Yahoo Finance.
- The Nasdaq 100 entered a correction on Wednesday amid heavy losses in chip stocks.
- Core PCE fell 0.1% month over month in June and rose 3.3% year over year, cooler than the expected monthly gain.
- Microsoft surged after strong results; Meta fell about 9% on an earnings miss and higher spending plans.
- Amazon and Apple report after the close, keeping AI and cloud costs in focus.
Why are U.S. stocks rising today?
Wall Street staged a rebound after Wednesday’s Fed-fueled sell-off, when the S&P 500 fell 1.5%, the Dow 2.2%, and the Nasdaq 1.7%, according to Investing.com. Thursday’s lift came as traders digested cooler PCE data and a sharp rally in Microsoft.
Fresh U.S. strikes on Iranian targets overnight and a climb in the 30-year Treasury yield near 5.24% kept investors cautious, Yahoo Finance reported. For more market and wealth coverage, see our Net Worth & Wealth hub.
How did Microsoft and Meta earnings move the Nasdaq 100?
The Nasdaq 100 was already under pressure after Wednesday’s chip-led correction. Microsoft jumped more than 11% after Azure cloud revenue topped $100 billion for the first time, Yahoo Finance said, while Investing.com put the early surge above 15%.
Meta shares fell about 9% after weaker-than-expected results and a lifted capital-expenditure outlook. That split among Magnificent Seven names left the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite leading the rebound even as Meta weighed on sentiment.
Amazon faces scrutiny on cloud spending when it reports after the bell, and Apple results will focus on margins amid memory chip price hikes.
What do today’s inflation and GDP numbers mean for markets?
The BEA said core PCE prices fell 0.1% in June versus forecasts for a 0.2% rise, and rose 3.3% year over year in line with estimates, Investing.com reported. That softer monthly reading is welcome for the Fed after it held rates steady Wednesday amid a split over possible hikes.
Separately, real GDP grew 1.5% in Q2 2026, below the 2.1% consensus and slower than Q1’s 2.1% pace. Initial jobless claims rose to 197,000, under the 201,000 estimate.
Around 9:47 a.m. ET, Investing.com put the S&P 500 at 7,392.26 (+1%), the Nasdaq Composite at 24,964.99 (+2.1%), and the Dow at 51,901.06 (+0.6%), reflecting an early-session bounce that remained fluid as megacap earnings landed.