Tesla shares soared 7% in the pre-market after an encouraging outlook for the year from Ilon Musk, which helped the overall market. It’s the height of earnings report season: Dow Chemical, American Airlines and – after the close of trading – Intel, to name just 3 companies. The U.S. released its GDP data, which exceeded expectations. Meta, banned in Russia, has reinstated Donald Trump’s account on the Facebook platform. Oil prices faced resistance after rallying 10% in the past 3 weeks. Here’s what you need to know about the financial market on Thursday, January 26.

1. TESLA ROSE AS MUSK NOTED THE EFFECT OF LOWER PRICES

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares rose 7% in the premarket after Elon Musk said that price cuts this month have revitalized demand for the company’s electric cars, putting the company on course for a year of solid – albeit slightly slower – sales and earnings growth.

Consensus forecasts for Tesla’s fourth-quarter revenue and profit were sharply revised downward due to production and logistics disruptions in China late last year, meaning revenue of $24.3 billion was barely above the previous quarter. Profit of $3.7 billion was the highest in the company’s history, but a fraction less than revised market forecasts.

Musk’s comments on a conference call following the release of the financial results suggested that deliveries (or production, it’s unclear which) will total 1.8 million vehicles this year, which would mean growth of about 37% over 2022 – below the company’s target of 50%. Although pickup truck production will begin later this year, high-volume production won’t start until 2024 at the earliest, Musk said.

2. GDP GROWTH SLOWS TO 2.6% IN Q4; JOBLESS CLAIMS AND NEW HOME SALES DATA TO BE RELEASED

The US reported fourth quarter GDP data just under a week before the Federal Reserve meets to adjust monetary policy settings.

US GDP rose 2.9% year-on-year in Q4, above analysts’ expectations of 2.6%. This indicates that the economy is growing despite the Fed’s rate hike. This situation may prompt the Fed to raise rates further as the economy is resilient.

At the same time, the U.S. Department of Labor will release data on jobless claims, and durable goods data will also be released. Data for December new home sales and the FRB Kansas City regional business survey will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

3. THE U.S. STOCK MARKET WILL OPEN HIGHER AMID AN ABUNDANCE OF EARNINGS REPORTS; DOW DISAPPOINTED, BUT NORTHROP AND VALERO BEAT EXPECTATIONS

U.S. stock indexes are set to open higher as Tesla’s earnings and outlook boosted individual tech stocks. However, industrial companies are lagging after a disappointing report from Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW).

By 06:30 ET, the Dow Jones futures were little changed but the S&P 500 futures were up 0.2% and the Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.6%.

Growth in the technology sector wasn’t universal, with IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) falling after missing forecasts in their updated reports Wednesday night.

Thousands of companies will report earnings throughout today, with Mastercard (NYSE:MA), Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) and American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) all giving a broad overview of the economy. Valero (NYSE:VLO) and defense giant Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) look good after stronger-than-expected reports. Visa (NYSE:V), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), KLA Corp (NASDAQ:KLAC) and L3Harris (NYSE:LHX) shares went up after the market closed.

4. BUZZFEED ON THE RISE AFTER META REPORT

Also in focus will be BuzzFeed (NASDAQ:BZFD) shares, which jumped 30% on reports that Facebook’s owner, Meta (NASDAQ:META), will pay the company an unspecified but likely large sum to help it bolster content on its social media sites.

Meta has also been in the news, saying it will reinstate former President Donald Trump’s Facebook page, which was suspended after the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. The company warned that Trump would face stiffer penalties for violating the user code again.

5. OIL PRICES CONSOLIDATED AHEAD OF OPEX+ MEETING

Crude oil prices consolidated, running into resistance around the $81 per barrel level after a 10% rally over the past 3 weeks as fears of a global economic slowdown were offset by forecasts of rising demand in China and, not least, a weaker dollar, making it cheaper for major importers such as China and India to buy oil.

The latest US oil inventories data was a few percent more bullish than expected, but is unlikely to make a difference as the market looks ahead to next week’s meeting between OPEC and its allies.

By 06:40, WTI prices were up 0.8 percent to $80.78 a barrel and Brent prices were up 0.8 percent to $86.79 a barrel.