Stocks rose Thursday, April 12, after sentiment improved following a tweet from President Donald Trump that said a missile strike in Syria wasn't imminent.
Trump, in a tweet on Thursday, said: "Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all! In any event, the United States, under my Administration, has done a great job of ridding the region of ISIS. Where is our 'Thank you America?'"
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 293 points, or 1.2%. The S&P 500 gained 0.83% and the Nasdaq was up 1.01%. Leading the Dow higher were Intel Corp. (INTC) , DowDuPont Inc. (DWDP) and Boeing Co. (BA) .
Stocks fell on Wednesday, April 11, after Trump hinted the U.S. could intervene in the Syria crisis, saying in a tweet: "Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and 'smart!'" The Dow lost 218 points, or 0.90%, to finish at 24,189 on Wednesday.
Investors were also mulling signals Thursday from the Federal Reserve about when and how often the central bank plans to raise interest rates. Minutes from the Fed's meeting in March, released Wednesday, showed greater confidence that inflation would rise to the Fed's 2% target over the coming year.
BlackRock Inc. (BLK) , the world's largest money manager, reported first-quarter earnings of $6.70 a share, higher than Wall Street estimates of $6.39. The stock rose 1.5%.
Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) reported adjusted earnings in the first quarter of 74 cents a share, 1 penny ahead of estimates. The carrier said it expects second-quarter profit of $1.80 to $2 a share. Analysts are calling for $1.92. Shares of Delta gained 2.9%.
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) were down 19% on Thursday after the home furnishings retailer said fiscal-year earnings would be about $2 to $2.50 a share, below analysts' forecasts of $2.77 a share.
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General Electric Co. (GE) is exploring a public offering for one of its divisions and discussing hybrid deals with public companies to combine assets, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Shares rose 1.6%.
Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) posted a fourth-quarter loss from continuing operations of 2 cents a share, narrower than estimates of a loss of 3 cents. The stock declined 0.61%.
Homebuilder Lennar Corp. (LEN) fell 2.47% after it named Rick Beckwitt as CEO as part of a management shake-up. Beckwitt, who has served as president since 2011, replaces Stuart Miller, who was appointed executive chairman.
Over the course of Facebook Inc. (FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg's 11 hours of congressional testimony on Tuesday and Wednesday, Facebook's market cap increased by about $17.3 billion - or roughly $1.57 billion an hour, according to TheStreet's Francesca Fontana. The stock, an Action Alert PLUS holding, fell 1.4% on Thursday.
Tesla Inc. (TSLA) has targeted November 2019 as the start of production for its Model Y sport utility vehicle, with production in China to begin two years later, Reuters reported, citing two sources. Shares of the electric car company fell 2.2%.
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