Stocks climbed out of an early hole and were mixed going into the noon hour Thursday, casting aside worries regarding weak data and overseas markets.
The Nasdaq rose 0.5%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.2%. The Dow Jones industrial average was off less than 0.1% in the stock market today. Volume was also mixed, tracking slightly lower on NYSE and higher on the Nadsaq exchange.
The market opened lower after first quarter preliminary U.S. GDP came in with a modest 0.5% rise, showing continued slowing. The estimate was for 0.7%. Also the Bank of Japan unexpected offered no additional stimulus, hurting Japanese stocks. The Nikkei 225 index fell 3.6% overnight. The index nearly reached 21,000 in June 2015, but now trades near 16,666.
Domino's Pizza (DPZ) gapped down and was trading 8% lower after posting Q1 earnings of 89 cents a share compared to estimates of 98 cents. Domestic same-store sales rose 6.4%. That beat estimates of 4.9%, but well below last year's 14.5% pace.
The stock gave up all of its gain from a breakout past a 119.83 buy point Feb. 25. It sliced through its 50-day line in heavy volume.
Facebook (FB) added strength to the Nasdaq, jumping 10% after reporting Q1 earnings of 77 cents a share, an 83% increase from a year earlier and 15 cents above estimates. Revenue was $5.38 billion vs. consensus of $5.26 billion.
The stock gapped out of a flawed base with a 117.09 entry point; the base shows considerable signs of institutional selling, yet its IBD Stock Checkup, available exclusively on Investors.com, shows a positive up/down volume ratio at 1.1.
PayPal (PYPL) also gapped up after reporting earnings that were slightly better than expected. It was up more than 2% on big volume, but is still 3% shy of a new high.
The disaster du jour was GNC Holdings (GNC), down 26% after missing earnings.
"We are not pleased with the reported results for the quarter and find them unacceptable," CEO Mike Archbold said. "The turnaround is taking longer than expected, and the progress is insufficient."
