Many people use the new year to make a fresh start, and the market has certainly done so. After a painful 2022, the S&P 500 has jumped 5.5% in 2023, and is inching higher again Thursday following robust GDP data.‍ Barron's provides live coverage of financial markets, from stocks and bonds to oil and crypto. This allows investors to stay up-to-date on the latest market developments. The confidence that comes with making a New Year's resolution may be gone by December.

Microsoft's disappointing outlook is weighing on the stocks of other cloud companies, including Amazon.

‍In South Korea, the Kospi index rose by 1.39% to close at 2,428.57 points, while the Kosdaq index climbed by 2% to end at 732.35 points. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index added 0.35% to 27,395.01 points, and the Topix index inched up by 0.39% to 1,980.69 points. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index declined by 0.3% to 7,468.3 points as the country's inflation rate hit a post-1990 peak.

Microsoft will announce their fiscal second-quarter results after regular trading hours on Tuesday.

European stock markets ended the day with a slight increase on Wednesday, as investors remained uncertain about the economic situation.