Market Snapshot: Dow, S&P 500 rise after GDP data as investors await Robinhood trading debut

What’s driving the market?

The Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product grew at an annualized pace of 6.5% in the second quarter, falling short of the average forecast of 9.1% produced by a survey of economists by The Wall Street Journal. Separately, data from the Labor Department showed first-time applications for unemployment benefits fell 24,000 last week to 400,000.

“Today’s GDP report is a reminder that perspective is everything. Growth of 6.5% is robust by most measures, but against expectations for an advance of 8.5%, it’s still a disappointment,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors.

Analysts noted that the expansion was held down by a fall in government spending, Meanwhile, consumer spending, the main engine of the economy, rocketed 11.8% higher in the spring, the GDP data showed. That’s four times faster than the typical increase each quarter.

“The return of household services consumption, from in-restaurant dining to recreation, was a force to be reckoned with in Q2, responsible for the lion’s share of economic gains for the quarter,” said Michael Reynolds, vice president of investment strategy at Glenmede, in emailed comments.

“For a sector that was decimated by a cliff of falling demand for much of the pandemic, it’s encouraging to see meaningful steps along the path of recovery from the services economy,” he said.

While it’s possible the second quarter could indeed mark “peak growth” in economic activity, but it would not necessarily be a “market-shaping event” that investors should fear, Reynolds said.

“The reality is that ‘peak growth’ is a classic early cycle occurrence, typically marking the beginning of a developing and durable economic cycle, as growth settles in at lower (but more sustainable) levels,” he said.

Meanwhile, online brokerage Robinhood Markets
HOOD,

makes its long-awaited debut after pricing its initial public offering at the low end of expectations.

The second quarter corporate earnings reporting season continues as online retailing giant Amazon.com
AMZN,
-0.31%
reports after the close of trade.

Which companies are in focus?

• Trevor Milton, founder of electric truck company Nikola Corp. 
  NKLA,
  -7.51%
   was indicted on three counts of fraud by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for making “false and misleading statements” to investors regarding “nearly all aspects of the business,” according to a grand jury indictment that was unsealed on Thursday.  Shares fell more than 9%.

• Facebook Inc. FB shares were down 4%, as the social media giant, like other technology titans, beat second-quarter earnings estimates but also guided to slowing revenue growth in the second half of the year.

• PayPal Holdings Inc. PYPL beat estimates but said current quarter sales would miss expectations. Shares fell 5.3%.

• Ford Motor Co.
  F,
  +3.97%
  late Wednesday reported a surprise quarterly profit, saying “strong” demand for its vehicles allowed it to forgo discounts and flagged signs of improvement on chip supplies. Shares rose more than 5%.

• Mastercard Inc.
  MA,
  +2.91%
  shares were up 1.9%, after the company topped expectations with its second-quarter results Thursday amid a continued recovery in spending trends.

• Comcast Corp.
  CMCSA,
  +1.66%
  topped earnings and revenue expectations Thursday after showing some recovery in its parks business as well as continued growth in the cable segment. Shares fell 2.4%.

• Qualcomm Inc.
  QCOM,
  +6.27%
  earnings more than doubled in the second quarter, and executives said the chip company was significantly improving its access to foundries during a global semiconductor shortage in which capacity constraints have hampered the sector.

What are other markets doing?

• The yield on the 10-year Treasury note
  TMUBMUSD10Y,
  1.269%
  edged up 0.6 basis point to 1.268%. Yields and debt prices move in opposite directions.

• The ICE U.S. Dollar Index
  DXY,
  -0.45%,
  a measure of the currency against a basket of six major rivals, fell 0.4%.

• Oil futures were on the rise, with the U.S. benchmark
  CL00,
  +1.04%
  up 0.8%, while gold futures
  GC00,
  +1.53%
  also advanced.

• In European equities, the Stoxx 600 Europe index
  SXXP,
  +0.47%
  rose 0.5%, while London’s FTSE 100
  UKX,
  +0.98%
  advanced 1%.

• In Asia, the Hang Seng
  HSI,
  +3.30%
  rallied 3.3% on reports Chinese authorities tried to placate top foreign institutions about a wave of regulatory actions. The index reamins down 3.7% for the week. The Shanghai Composite
  SHCOMP,
  +1.49%
  rose 1.5%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225
  NIK,
  +0.73%
  gained 0.7%.