Sawt Falasteen - Relief rally on Wall Street after better-than-feared earnings

Shares of Meta surged around 14 percent as it reported a profit of $5.7 billion in the first quarter -- the latest favorable results by a US tech giant -- prompting relief in the market following earlier fears that the sector might sputter.

Solid results from Meta, as well as Microsoft and Alphabet earlier in the week, "helped foster a sense of relief that the mega-cap leaders are still performing relatively well from an operational standpoint and maintaining their position as market leaders," said Briefing.com.

Following a muted session on European and Asian bourses, US stocks enjoyed their best day in weeks. The S&P 500 finished two percent higher.

Art Hogan, an analyst at B. Riley Financial, said investors were also heartened by US gross domestic product data that showed strong consumer spending, even if the headline figure disappointed.

Further "the worst of the regional bank turmoil is likely in the rear mirror," said Hogan, noting that most US lenders released earnings that were reassuring.

"It doesn't feel like the market is expecting some contagion," Hogan said.

After two straight routs, First Republic Bank mustered an 8.8 percent gain. Other regional banks also closed higher.

With markets having digested the busiest stretch of earnings, the focus turns next to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting next week.

Yields on US government debt rose after US data was released, suggesting that the market expects the Fed to consider strong consumer spending in the first quarter as well as a drop in weekly jobless claims on Thursday as evidence that the economy can take more interest rate hikes.

Elsewhere, oil prices rose modestly, bouncing from the prior session's rout.

Japan's Nomura bank saw its share price plunge more than seven percent after announcing its profits tumbled 76 percent to $55.3 million in the last quarter.

But British bank Barclays rallied more than five percent, topping London's benchmark FTSE 100 stocks index, thanks to a jump in quarterly profits.

Back in New York, Caterpillar shares fell 0.9 percent despite reporting solid earnings, as the market remained unconvinced about the company's outlook amid recession worries.

- Key figures around 2045 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 1.6 percent at 33,826.16 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 2.0 percent at 4,135.35 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: UP 2.4 percent at 12,142.24 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,831.58 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 40: UP less than 0.1 percent at 15,800.45 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,483.84 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.2 percent at 4,358.05 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 at 19,840.28 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,285.88 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 28,457.68 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1033 from $1.1041 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2498 from $1.2469

Dollar/yen: UP at 134.02 yen from 133.67 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 88.24 pence from 88.55 pence

Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.9 percent at $78.37 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $74.76 per barrel

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R.AbuNasser--SF-PST