The Dow Jones extended its gains by more than 500 points. The country's economy grew 6.9% on quarter over the last three months of the previous year, up from 2.3% expansion in the prior quarter and above market estimates of 5.5%.
The Dow was up 1.57% to 34,704 at the end of the day. The NASDAQ increased by 1.03% to 13,682 while the NASDAQ rose 1.03% to 74. The S&P was up 1.43% to 4,412 at the end of the day. Also, check out these big insider trades here.
Consumer staples shares went up 2.1% on Thursday. Hostess Brands, Inc., NASDAQ: TWNK up 7% and McCormick Company, Incorporated NYSE: MKC up 7%.
McDonald's reported adjusted earnings of $2.23 per share, missing the consensus of $2.34 per share. Net sales were $6.01 billion, compared to the consensus of $6.03 billion.
After VR Insurance announced its acquisition of the company, the National Security Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSEC) shares went up 67% to $15.40.
Shares of Seagate Technology Holdings plc NASDAQ: STX went up 17% to $112.87 after the company reported better than expected Q 2 results and issued guidance.
The shares of Galapagos NV NASDAQ: GLPG went up 19% to $63.36. The appointment of Dr. Paul Stoffels as chief executive officer was announced by Galapagos on April 1, 2022. Previously, Stoffels was a vice chairman of the executive committee and chief scientific officer at Johnson Johnson, where he spearheaded the company's research and product pipeline.
The NASDAQ: FLWS shares fell 32% to $14.38 after the company reported worse than expected Q 2 EPS and sales results. Revenue growth is forecast for FY 22 by 1 -- 800 Flowers.
The company issued Q 1 EPS and sales guidance below estimates, but the shares of Teradyne, Inc. fell 26% to $105.75.
Epizyme Inc. NASDAQ: EPZM was down 38% to $1.18 after the company priced an underwritten public offering of 56,666, 667 shares at $1.50 per share.
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In commodity news, oil was down 0.3% to $87.12, while gold was down 1.8% to $1,797. The price of silver was down 4.7% to $22.685 on Thursday, while the price of copper fell 1.6% to $4.4440.
European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 0.41%, London's FTSE 100 gained 0.99%, while Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 0.73%. The German DAX fell 0.01%, French CAC 40 climbed 0.17% and Italy's FTSE MIB Index gained 0.82%.
Italy's industrial sales rose by 2.4% in November, while the Spanish unemployment rate fell to 13.33% in the fourth quarter from 14.57% in the previous three months. The GfK Consumer Climate Indicator in Germany rose to 6.7 heading into February compared to a revised reading of 6.9 in January.
The UK's car exports dropped 15.4% from a year ago to 46,219 units in December, while car production fell 12.7% to 62,310 units.
The US economy grew 6.9% on quarter over the last three months of the previous year, up from 2.3% expansion in the previous quarter and above market estimates of 5.5%.
US initial jobless claims dropped by 30 thousand from the previous period to 260 thousand during the week ending January 22.
The Energy Information Administration said that US natural gas supplies fell 219 billion cubic feet last week.
The Treasury will auction 7 year notes at 1: 00 p.m. The US has the highest number of deaths and coronaviruses in the world, reporting a total of 74,176, 400 cases with around 898,680 deaths. India has reported at least 40,371, 500 cases and 491,720 deaths, while Brazil reported over 24,553, 950 COVID 19 cases with 624,500 deaths. There were more than 5,647,470 deaths worldwide of COVID 19 cases, which were more than 363,693, 130 cases of COVID-19.