Stock Market Today: Stocks Swing Higher on Meta Earnings Excitement

Economic Overview - The U.S. added 353,000 new jobs in January, significantly exceeding the expected 185,000 [1] - The unemployment rate remained at 3.7% and the participation rate at 62.5% compared to December [1] - Average hourly earnings increased by 0.6% month-over-month and 4.5% year-over-year [1] - Market expectations for a March rate cut have decreased from 38% to 21% due to the strong labor market [3] Company Performance - Meta Platforms reported earnings of $5.33 per share on $40.1 billion in revenue, surpassing expectations [4] - Meta announced a quarterly dividend of 50 cents per share and increased its stock buyback program by $50 billion [4] - The company plans to invest up to $37 billion in tech infrastructure to enhance AI initiatives [4] - Meta's stock surged 20.3%, adding $204 billion in market value, marking the largest single-day gain for a U.S. stock [5] Market Reactions - Amazon.com saw a stock increase of 7.9% following its earnings report, which also beat expectations [6] - Apple experienced a slight decline of 0.5% after reporting a 13% drop in sales in China year-over-year, the only region with a decline [6] - The Nasdaq Composite closed up 1.7% at 15,628, the S&P 500 rose 1.1% to 4,958, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4% to 38,654 [6]