Stocks open mostly higher, but Facebook parent falls sharply

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening mostly higher on Wall Street with the notable exception of Facebook’s parent company. Meta Platforms lost another one-quarter of its value after reporting a second straight quarter of revenue decline amid falling advertising sales and stiff competition from TikTok. That followed weak earnings reports from Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and Microsoft. Amazon and Apple report later Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% early Thursday and the Dow rose 1.4%, but Meta’s slump pulled the Nasdaq down 0.2%. Markets got some encouraging economic news as the government reported the U.S. economy returned to growth last quarter, expanding 2.6%.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

U.S. futures are mixed Thursday ahead of an update on the U.S. economy and another hefty slate of corporate earnings.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrials rose 0.7%, while the S&P 500 ticked 0.1% higher.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 0.5% in premarket, dragged down by Facebook parent company Meta, whose shares tumbled 22% after profits slid with advertising money drying up.

After markets closed Wednesday, Meta reported that its revenue declined for a second consecutive quarter amid falling advertising sales and competition from TikTok’s wildly popular video app. Meta’s disappointing results followed weak earnings reports from Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft this week. Amazon and Apple report Thursday after the bell.

McDonald’s rose 3% in premarket after it reported strong third-quarter sales, boosted by customer engagement on its app. Southwest Airlines jumped more than 4% it reported record operating revenue in its third quarter, thanks to strong summer travel demand.

In the midst of another heavy week of earnings, investors also awaited for more U.S. economic data and a European Central Bank meeting where it’s expected to raise its key interest rate to a 13-year high to fight stubborn inflation.

The U.S. government releases its first estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product before the market opens Thursday and forecasters expect the data to show the economy grew in the three months ending in September following two quarters of contraction.

Investors are hoping that indicators showing housing sales and consumer sentiment weakening might encourage Fed officials to decide rate hikes are working and fewer are needed.

The Fed is expected to raise its benchmark lending rate by another three-quarters of a percentage point at its November meeting.

In Europe, the ECB, which manages the euro currency used by Germany, France and 17 other countries, is expected to raise its benchmark lending rate by up to 0.75 percentage points.

Traders worry this year’s aggressive rate hikes might tip the global economy into recession.

The ECB will “have to turn a blind eye” to signs of slowing activity “as it battles to bring inflation back under control,” Fawad Razaqzada of StoneX said in a report.

At midday, the FTSE 100 in London gained 0.1%, while the DAX in Frankfurt lost 0.9% and the CAC 40 in Paris sank 1%.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.6% to 2,982.90 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo shed 0.3% to 27,345.24. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.7% to 15,425.03.

The Kospi in Seoul advanced 1.7% to 2,288.72 after economic growth slowed to a one-year low of 0.3% over the previous quarter in the three months ending in September from the previous quarter’s 0.7% increase.

Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.5% to 6,845.10 and India’s Sensex advanced 0.2% to 59,660.19. New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets rose.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude gained 28 cents to $88.19 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, added 25 cents to $94.04 per barrel in London.

The dollar inched up to 146.71 yen from Wednesday’s 146.26 yen. The euro edged down to $1.0046 from $1.0080.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 index fell 0.7%, breaking three days of gains, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 2%. The Dow ended little changed.

——

McDonald reported from Beijing; Ott reported from Washington.