Tesla, IBM and Meta Platforms helped lead most U.S. stocks higher after a rush of profit reports from some of the country’s most influential companies

Wall Street's main indexes rose on Thursday, driven by post-earnings advances in Meta and Tesla, although Microsoft's weak cloud forecast and downbeat results from Cigna dampened investor enthusiasm. Microsoft MSFT.O dropped 4.7% after forecasting disappointing growth in its cloud computing business.

Tesla said it sold 1.79 million vehicles in 2024, the first drop in more than a dozen years despite offers of 0% financing, free charging and low-priced leases

U.S. stocks slipped after the Federal Reserve held its main interest rate steady and broke a run of cuts that began in September

U.S. stocks ended lower on Wednesday, but off their lows of the day, with the Federal Reserve holding interest rates steady as expected and Fed Chair Jerome Powell offering soothing comments for investors.