Scott Olson/Getty Images News Major market averages opened higher open on Thursday as investors received the latest round of positive GDP growth figures. Durable goods orders for December and jobless claims were also stronger than expected. Early on and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP.IND) picked up 1.3% as Tesla rallied on bullish sales outlook. The S&P 500 (SP500) was also higher by 0.7% and the Dow (DJI) rose by 0.3%. “Ultimately, Tesla is firmly back on the road to growth and maintains an enviable market position,” Hargreaves Landsdown analyst Sophie Lund-Yates said. “However, there are some clouds gathering on the horizon on both an economic and industry level. Both of those have the potential to seriously squeeze margins.” The first measure of Q4 GDP arrived higher than anticipated at 2.9% compared to the economists forecasted 2.6%. “And now we have complete data for 2022, a year in which recession talk reached new highs:,” economist Justin Wolfers tweeted. “The level of real GDP was 2.1% (higher) than in 2021 (a growth rate roughly in line with average growth in the 2000s).” “Consumption will pick up in Q1 because unit auto sales will accelerate,” RenMac research said. “Residential investment will not be as much of a drag. Exports probably grow, supporting the manufacturing sector.” “Overall, favorable news for the economy that will also attract Fed attention,” Mohamed El-Erian tweeted. At the same time, durable goods orders for December came in at 5.6%, above the expected 2.5% level. Weekly initial jobless claims hit a 9-month low with claims falling 6K to 186K. Rates were higher also. The 10-year Treasury yield (US10Y) rose 2 basis points to 3.47%. The 2-year yield (US2Y) rose 3 basis points to 4.16%. Shortly, there will be data on December new home sales. Economists are looking for drop to a pace of 617K. Among active stocks, Qualtrics surged more than 25% after SAP said it’s exploring the sale of its remaining stake in the company.
