Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages trade below their session highs, though they preserve the majority of their early gains.

Unsurprisingly, Meta Platforms (META 774.56, +79.35, +11.4%) is one of the top-performing stocks in the S&P 500.

The company delivered a stellar Q2 earnings report, propelling its stock to new record highs, as the company's robust beat-and-raise performance underscored its dominance in digital advertising and AI-driven innovation.

User engagement also remained strong, with daily active users across its Family of Apps reaching 3.48 billion, up 6% year-over-year.

Notably, Meta tightened its FY25 capital expenditure guidance to $66-$72 billion from the prior $64-$72 billion range, a move that contrasted with expectations of a significant upward revision following Alphabet's (GOOG) $10 billion capital expenditure hike. This relatively more disciplined approach to capital expenditure, combined with strong financials, reassured investors that META is balancing aggressive AI investments with fiscal prudence.

While Meta's impressive advance today is certainly a market mover, it is not the top-performing stock within the S&P 500. That title belongs to eBay (EBAY 91.79, +14.23, +18.4%), which beat EPS expectations by $0.07 and reported a beat on revenues. The company guided Q3 EPS in-line and Q3 revenues above consensus. 

The company also benefits from an upgrade to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital, with a target of $102.