U.S. stocks climbed on Thursday, buoyed by strong earnings from Microsoft and Meta Platforms that helped ease investor concerns around the future of artificial intelligence amid broader economic uncertainty.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 83.60 points, or 0.21%, ending the session at 40,752.96. The S&P 500 gained 0.63% to close at 5,604.14, recovering much of the ground lost following former President Donald Trump’s early-April tariff announcement. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.52%, closing at 17,710.74, reversing the pullback it had seen since April 2.

Investors were encouraged by Meta's better-than-expected first-quarter revenue. CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed confidence in the company’s ability to handle ongoing economic volatility, reinforcing sentiment that AI-related business remains resilient. Microsoft also topped Wall Street expectations for both earnings and revenue in its fiscal third quarter, with company leaders forecasting increased capital spending to support further data center expansion. They emphasized that “cloud and AI are the new engines for productivity, cost-efficiency, and growth.”

Shares of Microsoft soared 7.6%, while Meta rose 4.2% following their earnings announcements. The information technology sector led the charge within the S&P 500, jumping more than 2% — far outpacing the other sectors.

“While tariffs and trade tensions pose risks to most stocks, the AI sector is proving to be more resilient than many had assumed,” said Jed Ellerbroek, a portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management. “We’re just at the beginning of a steep AI growth trajectory.”

However, not all economic news was positive. Weekly jobless claims rose to 241,000, surpassing the 225,000 forecasted by Dow Jones. This figure, along with a disappointing first-quarter GDP report showing a 0.3% annualized contraction, has raised the stakes for the upcoming April nonfarm payroll report due Friday. The GDP decline marked the first quarterly contraction since early 2022.

Despite Thursday’s gains, April closed on a weak note for markets. Although the S&P 500 and Dow rebounded in the final session, both posted monthly losses — 0.8% and 3.2%, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite, however, managed a 0.9% gain for the month.

Market volatility surged earlier in April following Trump’s new tariff threats and their later suspension. At one point, the S&P 500 had briefly entered bear market territory, falling over 20% from its February peak before recovering some losses.

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