Mumbai, Jan. 31 -- The Dow climbed 168.61 points or 0.4 percent to 44,882.13, the S&P 500 also advanced 31.86 points or 0.5 percent to 6,071.17, while the Nasdaq rose 49.43 points or 0.3 percent to 19,681.75.

IBM jumped 13% and Meta gained on strong earnings, while Microsoft fell 6.2% on weak guidance. UPS plunged 14.1% despite beating estimates and will cut Amazon shipments by 50% by 2026.

U.S. economic growth in Q4 2024 slowed more than expected. Gold stocks surged, pushing the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up 4.1%. Utilities and housing stocks were strong, with respective gains of 2.4% and 2.3%. Semiconductor stocks also jumped 2.3%, alongside strength in networking, airline, and pharmaceutical stocks. However, Microsoft's sharp decline ...