Dow up more than 500 points in final hour of trading as earnings set the tone

U.S. stocks rallied sharply Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite leading the surge after upbeat results from Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. META. Analysts said earnings optimism was trumping economic worries and other concerns after a weaker-than-expected first-quarter gross domestic product reading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA was up 552 points, or 1.7%, while the S&P 500 SPX jumped 2% and the Nasdaq COMP surged 2.4%.

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