By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com – The Dow climbed Thursday, as a rally in Meta following better-than-feared quarterly results put tech stocks back on investor shopping lists.    

6.14 points) The gain was 1.9%.

Meta (NASDAQ:), the parent company of Facebook, reported mixed quarter results. Revenue fell below estimates and guidance was weaker than anticipated. But the results weren’t as bad as many had feared, and the social media company saw a return to sequential user growth, helping the stock surge about 18%.

“While the outlook [from Meta] was below expectations it was clearly a relief for investors and better than the worst-case scenario that seemed to be baked into shares headed into the print,” Wedbush said in a note.

After the close bell, Amazon.com (NASDAQ) and Apple.com (NASDAQ), both closed the curtains on major tech earnings. Both were up over 4%. Amazon (NASDAQ:), which reported a surprising first quarter loss, fell 10% in afterhours trades. 

After the chipmaker announced better-than expected fiscal second quarter results and guidance for the third quarter, the chip stock market also gained momentum.

The chipmaker’s results drew widespread optimism on Wall Street. “[W]e believe the setup for continued growth for the 2H22 remains strong as all the drivers for F2Q/F3Q are joined by typical seasonality and incremental supply,” Deutsche Bank said in a note.

PayPal (NASDAQ:) soared more than 11% after its first-quarter results beat analysts’ estimates, supported by strong payments volume growth and net new active accounts.

McDonald’s (NYSE:) also delivered better-than-expected results as price hikes helped offset the impact of rising costs and the Ukraine war. Its shares were up more than 3%.

Teladoc (NYSE) dropped more than 40% following the reduction of its full-year outlook after quarter results which were weighed down due to lower demand.

An unexpected fall in U.S. economy growth was offset by a wave of positive quarterly results from corporations.

However, economists which pointed out the strength in the consumer were quick to dismiss the report.

“We remain constructive on nominal demand which continues to be supported by pent-up savings and strong wage gains,” Jefferies said.

The surprise decline in the U.S. growth isn’t expected to factor into the Fed’s thinking as above-trend inflation will continue to drive policy.

“I think the Fed will follow through for part of this journey, with two or three aggressive increases, and they’ll start to shrink the balance sheet,” said John Ragard, senior portfolio manager, small cap equity at Spouting Rock Asset Management told Investing.com in an interview on Thursday.

Oil prices continued their meltdown as new supply concerns fueled oil prices. Germany is apparently warming up to the notion of life without Russian oil.  

According to the Wall Street Journal, German officials to EU institutions would be willing to accept a ban on Russia’s oil imports if Berlin is given sufficient time to search for alternative suppliers.

Market rally aside, investors will be watching closely as the road ahead is bumpy and filled with uncertainty.

“I think until we get these uncertainties lifted on inflation, on the war, on supply chains, on Chinese lockdowns … all of these clouds that are out there have to clear a bit before I think people are willing to be more risk on again,” Ragard added.