By Mike Bird and Gunjan Banerji 

U.S. stocks climbed Thursday, led by the technology sector, after a strong round of corporate earnings reports.

The generally better-than-expected first-quarter results have helped overshadow concerns that the recent selloff in bond markets will trickle down into equities, analysts said.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.8%, and the S&P 500 added 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 269 points, or 1.1%, to 24351.

Technology stocks led the way after Facebook reported a 63% increase in earnings and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said the company hadn't seen a "meaningful trend" of advertisers leaving the social-media platform following its data-privacy scandal. Shares jumped 10%, on track for their best day in more than two years.

Advanced Micro Devices, meanwhile, surged 13% after the chip maker reported higher-than-expected quarterly profits.

The jump in those two stocks helped pull the S&P 500's technology sector up 2.4% after a six-session losing streak.

"The earnings season in general...it's really been outstanding," said Jacob Johnston, vice president at Advisors Asset Management.

A recent lurch higher in 10-year Treasury yields has spurred swings in the stock market in recent months, but Mr. Johnston said he still thinks yields are far from being a real threat to strong equity returns.

U.S. 10-year Treasury yields fell to 2.994%, according to Tradeweb, from 3.026% on Wednesday. The yield rose above 3% earlier this week for the first time since early 2014.

"Of the 155 S&P 500 companies that have reported thus far, 81% have beaten expectations," said Fahad Kamal, senior markets strategist Kleinwort Hambros. "Still, rising bond yields keep animal spirits at bay."

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill were the biggest gainers in the S&P 500, rising 24.5% after the burrito maker posted a stronger-than-expected profit and sales for the first quarter, on track for its largest percent increase ever.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 edged up 0.9%. The European Central Bank's governing council, as expected, left interest rates and its bond-buying program unchanged after a meeting Thursday.

"The [ECB] governing council may want to wait for more economic data and the June economic projections before taking a clearer stance on the direction of monetary policy going forward," analysts at ABN Amro said in a research note Thursday.

Major European bank stocks saw volatile trading after posting results.

Deutsche Bank posted a 79% drop in earnings and said it would retreat from the trading and lending businesses dominated by Wall Street banks. Barclays, meanwhile, reported higher revenue at its investment bank even as it posted an overall loss. The stocks declined 1.3% and 1.4%, respectively.

In currency markets, the WSJ Dollar index was up 0.2%, close to its highest level since early January.

Stocks in Asia were mixed, with Japan's Nikkei 225 closing up 0.47%, while indexes in China sold off. China's Shenzhen A-Share Index ended the day down 2.2%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1%.

The fall follows a Wall Street Journal report that the Justice Department is investigating whether Huawei Technologies violated U.S. sanctions related to Iran. Huawei pulled a bond issue planned for Thursday after the news broke.

--James Glynn contributed to this article.

Write to Mike Bird at Mike.Bird@wsj.com and Gunjan Banerji at Gunjan.Banerji@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 26, 2018 14:34 ET (18:34 GMT)

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