Stock Market Today: Stocks Close Mixed After Fed Stress Tests, GDP
The Dow outperformed Thursday on strength in blue-chip bank stocks JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs.


Stocks closed mostly higher Thursday after the latest round of economic data eased recession worries and financial shares jumped following the results of the Federal Reserve's annual stress test.
On the economic front, the final reading on gross domestic product (GDP) showed the U.S. economy grew at a 2% annualized pace in the first quarter, up from the previous reading of 1.3%. "The updated estimates primarily reflected upward revisions to exports and consumer spending that were partly offset by downward revisions to non-residential fixed investment and federal government spending," the report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis stated.
Elsewhere, data from the Labor Department showed that initial jobless claims fell by 26,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 239,000, their lowest level since late May.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
While today's data fuels "optimism of a stronger and more resilient economy than previously thought," it also reinforces "the likelihood that the central bank will remain considerably more hawkish than investors anticipate," says José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers.
Financial stocks boost Dow, S&P 500
Still, two of the three major indexes finished higher thanks to strength in financial stocks. The sector got a boost after the Fed released the results of its annual stress tests. These tests, which were created after the 2008 financial crisis, use hypothetical situations to measure how well the country's biggest banks could weather an extreme economic downturn. They also determine the amount of capital these big lenders can return to shareholders through stock buybacks and dividends.
Solid results this time around created tailwinds for the financial sector, with Dow stocks JPMorgan Chase (JPM, +3.5%) and Goldman Sachs (GS, +3.0%) being two of the biggest gainers Thursday.
As a result, the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed today, adding 0.8% to 34,122. The S&P 500 also gained ground, rising 0.5% to 4,396, while the Nasdaq Composite closed marginally lower at 13,591.
The best QQQ stocks
Despite today's slight decline, the Nasdaq is still headed toward an impressive first-half return, up 30% with one more session to go. This will mark the index's best 1H performance on record, according to Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial. And while there will likely be some bumps in the road going forward, "including the prospect of further rate hikes from the Fed, stubbornly high inflation, interest rate volatility and elevated recession risk," Turnquist says history suggests this strength could continue through the second half of the year.
We've mentioned in this space several times how investors can ride the momentum of the market, including scooping up the best tech stocks, the best growth stocks and – in the most talked-about trend on Wall Street right now – the best artificial intelligence (AI) stocks.
Another tack is to drill down on stocks in the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), the exchange-traded fund that tracks the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX). The fund has a long history of outperformance and more recently has seen strong returns thanks to surging demand for generative AI. Here, we take a look at nine of the best QQQ stocks for growth and innovation – and potential upside in the second half of the year. Check them out.
Related Content
Get Kiplinger Today newsletter — free
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
Do You Really Need That Wine Cellar?
Home Features Wine cellars are a popular feature in high-end houses. Will installing one in your home increase its value, or would you be better off with a cheaper solution?
-
Think a Repeal of the Estate Tax Wouldn't Affect You? Wrong
The wording of any law that repeals or otherwise changes the federal estate tax could have an impact on all of us. Here's what you need to know, courtesy of an estate planning and tax attorney.
-
My Three-Day Rule for Investing: And If it Applies Now
Stock Market I've seen a lot in my career. Here's what I see now in the stock market.
-
Is It Time to Invest in Europe?
Stock Market Europe is being shaken out of its lethargy, militarily and otherwise, by Donald Trump's changes in U.S. policy. Should investors start buying?
-
What Wall Street's CEOs Are Saying About Trump's Tariffs
We're in the thick of earnings season, and corporate America has plenty to say about the Trump administration's trade policy.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Gain on Tech, Auto Tariff Talk
The Trump administration said late Friday that it will temporarily halt tariffs on some Chinese tech imports.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Surge to Close a Volatile Week
It was another day with a week's worth of both news and price action, but it ended on a strongly positive note.
-
Stock Market Today: Uncertainty Proliferates: Dow Loses 1,014 Points
Weaker-than-expected consumer inflation data wasn't enough to stabilize sentiment during another volatile day for financial markets.
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Rises 854 Points From Its Intraday Low
If there's one thing markets hate, it's uncertainty. But uncertainty is all they're getting these days.
-
Stock Market Today: Markets Celebrate Trump's Tariff Détente
Consumer discretionary stocks led 10 of the 11 S&P 500 sector groups well into the green.