Tesla, IBM and Meta Platforms helped lead most U.S. stocks higher after a rush of profit reports from some of the country's most influential companies

Microsoft MSFT.O dropped 4.7% after forecasting disappointing growth in its cloud computing business. Meta Platforms META.O rose 4.5% after beating estimates for fourth-quarter revenue, but forecast that first-quarter sales might miss estimates.

Tesla said it sold 1.79 million vehicles in 2024, the first drop in more than a dozen years despite offers of 0% financing, free charging and low-priced leases

Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) is one of the hottest artificial intelligence (AI) stocks out there. It has risen an astronomical 362% since the beginning of 2024 and shows little signs of slowing down. However,

U.S. stock indexes slipped Wednesday after the Federal Reserve opted not to cut interest rates for the first time since it began trying to help the economy through easier rates in September. The S&P 500 fell 0.