Dow surges 300 points, Facebook and AMD jump after crushing earnings

Stocks rose sharply on Thursday, helped by strong quarterly results from some of the biggest U.S. companies.

The Dow Jones industrial average traded 300 points higher, with Visa as the best-performing stock in the index. The S&P 500 gained 1.4 percent as tech rose 2.6 percent. The Nasdaq composite rose 1.9 percent.

Facebook shares surged nearly 10 percent after the company posted better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the first quarter. The company's number of daily active users pointed to steady engagement in the platform despite backlash from the Cambridge Analytica debacle.

Advanced Micro Devices also posted earnings that topped expectations, sending its stock up about 13 percent.

Chipotle, meanwhile, soared 24.6 percent after reporting a stronger-than-expected profit, boosted same-store sales that easily topped expectations.

"There are two things driving the market: Earnings and the news flow out of Washington," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives at the Schwab Center for Financial Research. He noted that earnings may be currently overshadowing the news out of DC.

"The earnings reports have been good thus far," Frederick said. "I see no reason why that wouldn't continue."

Source: Bloomberg Pro Terminal

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