US stocks surge to a record on blockbuster tech earnings

Getty Images / Scott Olson

• US stock rose to an all-time high on Friday fueled by better-than-expected second-quarter numbers from Twitter and Alphabet.
• Alphabet soared as much as 12% after the tech giant posted sales that beat Wall Street forecasts.
• Shares of Twitter surged by as much as 11% after company posted its strongest user growth in two years.
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US stocks climbed to new highs on Friday after better-than-expected earnings from Alphabet and Twitter. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes both reached all-time records.

Google parent Alphabet rose as much as 12% after posting second-quarter sales that were higher than Wall Street anticipated. Revenue came in at $31.7 billion, compared to the $30.84 billion analysts predicted. The company also announced a $25 billion stock repurchase program.

Twitter jumped as much as 11% after its second-quarter financial results beat sales estimates and the company posted its strongest user growth in two years. The social-media platform generated $841 million in revenue during the quarter, outpacing analyst forecasts of $829 million.

Here's a look at today's closing numbers:

• The S&P 500 rose by 0.74% to 3,025.86
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.19% to 27,192.45
• The Nasdaq Composite rose by 1.11% to 8,330.21

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Shares of T-Mobile and Sprint rose higher after the US Department of Justice gave T-Mobile conditional approval to purchase the rival carrier. The settlement would require T-Mobile to divest Sprint's prepaid phone businesses and wireless spectrum to Dish so it can establish a fourth wireless phone carrier.

Starbucks climbed 9% to a record high after the coffee chain raised its full-year earnings outlook for the second quarter in a row. The company expects to generate between $2.80 and $2.82 in earnings per share in 2019, up from a range of $2.75 to $2.79.

Within the S&P 500, these were the largest gainers:

• Universal Health Services: 10.89%
• Alphabet: 10.45%
• Starbucks: 9.62%

And the largest decliners:

• Mohawk Industries: (-17.60%)
• Cabot Oil & Gas: (-12.07%)
• Xilinx: (-5.35%)

Further, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said US gross domestic product slowed from April to June. GDP rose by 2.1% during the period, a decrease from the 3.1% gain in the previous quarter.

The communications services sector rose by 3.3%, recording the largest gain in the S&P 500 index. Energy fell by 0.5% and industrials by 0.2%.