Futures-options traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange’s NYSE American in New York City, U.S., October 22, 2025.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
The S&P 500 rose on Thursday, boosted by those in the tech space, as investors attempted to regain their footing following Wednesday’s slide.
The broad market index climbed 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 25 points, or 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, rising 0.6% with the support of gains in names such as Nvidia, Broadcom and Amazon.
The S&P 500’s move higher marks a change from the meaningful losses seen in the previous session, with the index falling roughly 0.5%. The Dow lost about 334 points, or 0.7%, while the Nasdaq declined 0.9% as investors rotated out of riskier assets.
Stocks had finished lower Wednesday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the White House is mulling plans to curb exports to China made with U.S. software. Those plans would build on Trump’s statement almost two weeks ago that the U.S. will implement export restrictions by Nov. 1 on “any and all critical software.”
Now, investors are continuing to watch earnings releases from the biggest U.S. companies, which many believe could be make-or-break for the current bull market rally. Tesla – which kicked off reports from the “Magnificent Seven” megacap tech group – saw shares dip more than 1% on the back of mixed third-quarter results. IBM shed 2% after the tech company beat Wall Street estimates but reported in-line software revenue.
More than 80% of the S&P 500 companies that have reported so far have exceeded earnings expectations, per FactSet.
“While we are seeing individual stocks get punished after missing expectations, we expect earnings overall to be strong enough to keep stock prices elevated in the near-term,” said Emily Bowersock Hill, CEO and founding partner at Bowersock Capital Partners. “This current earnings season is unlikely to disappoint investors enough to trigger a notable market setback.”
Those on Wall Street are also monitoring a rise in oil prices after Trump administration imposed additional sanctions on Russia’s two biggest crude companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, due to the country’s “lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine.”
“Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” Bessent said when announcing the new sanctions.
Trade remains in focus as well. President Donald Trump said Wednesday evening that his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping is “scheduled,” easing some fears about U.S.-China relations that had put markets under pressure on Wednesday.