Stock Market Today: Stocks Close Mixed on Muddled Earnings and Econ Data

Stocks closed mixed Thursday in a seesaw session driven by conflicting corporate earnings reports and a cloudy picture on the health of the U.S. economy.

Strong earnings from Caterpillar (CAT (opens in new tab), +7.8%) helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average end the day in the green, rising 0.6% to close at 32,036. But a disappointing revenue forecast from Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META (opens in new tab), -24.6%) after Wednesday's close weighed on the Nasdaq Composite. The tech-heavy index slumped 1.6% to finish at 10,792. The broader S&P 500, meanwhile, somewhat split the difference, closing off 0.6% at 3,807. 

Markets got an early lift from a better-than-expected reading on third-quarter gross domestic product (opens in new tab). The U.S. economy rebounded after two consecutive quarters of contraction to grow at an annual rate of 2.6% in Q3. That topped economists' estimates for annualized growth of 2.4%. 

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The optimism was short-lived, however, as underlying components of the GDP report suggested that an economic slowdown remains the most likely scenario (opens in new tab) in 2023. 

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The Best Dividend Stocks You Can Count On

Thursday's session was full of twists and turns, and that should remind investors that heightened volatility remains the order of the day. Stocks had been grinding higher since mid-October on encouraging third-quarter earnings reports. Given that this was supposed to be the worst earnings season (opens in new tab) since the height of COVID-19 lockdowns, the market's bullishness over reports that turned out brighter than forecast made sense. But lackluster results from mega-cap technology companies Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL (opens in new tab)) and cloud-computing giant Microsoft (MSFT (opens in new tab)) earlier this week put an end to the good feelings. Meta Platforms only added to the dour mood. With Amazon.com (AMZN (opens in new tab)) and Apple (AAPL (opens in new tab)) set to report after Thursday's closing bell, tomorrow's session could be a real doozy.

Happily, investors looking to smooth out their returns in turbulent times have a number of options. Low-volatility exchange-traded funds (opens in new tab) are a cheap and easy way to own a diversified portfolio of stocks that tend to hold up better when the market is selling off. Dividend payers in defensive sectors, such as the best consumer staples stocks (opens in new tab) or the best Dow dividend stocks (opens in new tab), will also stand patient investors in good stead. Folks who can maintain truly long horizons can't go wrong with the creme de la creme of dividend growth stocks. The S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats is an index of companies that have raised their payouts for at least 25 consecutive years. Heck, two of the components extended their streaks in just the past couple of days. Have a look at the 65 best dividend stocks (opens in new tab) you can count on for reliable and rising dividends.