Facebook unable to lift S&P 500 Facebook rose sharply after the opening bell on Thursday after the social network announced earnings that have renewed investor faith in the company's ability to operate in the mobile advertising market. Shares jumped 25.5 per cent to $33.27 in heavy trading, touching levels not seen since the company's disastrous IPO. However, Facebook has weathered a difficult 2013, amid concerns about the company's advertising revenue, mobile ad market share, and user traffic. Shares had been off 0.4 per cent on the year to date before Thursday's rally. Earnings from Facebook beat revenue and profit expectations, and analysts said the growth in mobile ad income and the number of local advertisers put the company on a sustainable path. "With Facebook showing strength in crucial areas, we believe that second quarter results support our positive long-term platform thesis and view towards ongoing growth and margin expansion," said Colin Sebastian, analyst at Baird, in a note. Both volume and pricing on ads are on the rise, while key user metrics remain healthy, including engagement and monetisation. Chipmaker Qualcomm also reported earnings that cheered investors, as the company beat revenue estimates and raised its full-year guidance. Shares were up 4.2 per cent to $63.99. Qualcomm supplies chips for smartphones and tablets - a market that some had worried was on the decline. The company has struggled in the year to date, and was up 3.4 per cent in 2013, well behind the broader market. Facebook and Qualcomm, though, helped make Nasdaq the best performing major index on the day, up 0.5 per cent at 3,596.05. The S&P 500 was off fractionally at 1,685.85, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 0.3 per cent to 15,500.41. The decline on the S&P 500 put the benchmark index on track for its third straight day in the red, the first such streak since mid-June. However, it is off only 0.7 per cent in that time. A brief pause was to be expected, said Paul Zemsky, chief investment officer of multi-asset strategies at ING US Investment Management, particularly as the S&P 500 approaches the 1,700 level. We've had a very strong July, with a big rebound from the swoon we had in June. Short-term indicators are saying the market is overbought and people may be taking a little bit of profits," he said. We've come off so little from the highs. 1,700 is a psychological barrier, so to bounce off that the first time we approach it doesn't make me too concerned. The earnings season continued to be the main driver of stock prices. General Motors, one of the better performing stocks on the S&P 500 in 2013, ticked down despite beating profit expectations. Shares fell 0.8 per cent to $36.84. Consumer credit provider Visa hit all-time highs, up 4.2 per cent to $194.65, after beating earnings per share estimates. The company also raised its forecast for the current fiscal year. Homebuilders PulteGroup and DR Horton both fell sharply after reporting earnings that pointed to a possible slowdown in the US housing market recovery. Despite beating profit estimates, DR Horton fell 9.5 per cent to $19.19 after reporting new orders that missed expectations. PulteGroup was off 8.2 per cent to $16.94 as the company missed earnings per share estimates.