Strong earnings from Tesla and United Rentals helped lift market

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Thursday’s rally was driven by a series of strong earnings from the company.

“I’ve said over and over again that during reporting season, it’s the companies and the leaders who are able to run them that matter,” he said.

Stocks rose Thursday as investors digested the latest batch of earnings and new gross domestic product data showing the US economy grew a stronger-than-expected 2.9% in the fourth quarter.

Cramer said that contrary to what many might believe, the economic data did not rally the trading session.

“It’s a classic misdirected game – just completely wrong. She is outdated. It doesn’t count. For heaven’s sake, we’re in reporting season,” he said, adding, “Stocks performed well today because many of them performed well. “

He gave several examples of corporate news and earnings reports that helped boost Thursday:

“It’s very confusing if you’re on constant negative autopilot because you’re only paying attention to [Federal Reserve]. If you were watching individual companies, these moves would be a lot less surprising,” Kramer said.