Facebook shares soar, lifting Nasdaq

FACEBOOK shares have soared on strong earnings in opening trade, lifting the Nasdaq, while overall the markets were in negative territory.

In the first 10 minutes of trade on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 47.60 (0.31 per cent) at 15,494.64.

The broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 edged down 1.52 (0.09 per cent) to 1,684.42.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite headed higher, adding 6.53 (0.18 per cent) at 3,586.13.

Facebook shares skyrocketed 25.8 per cent to $33.35. The leading social network company surprised Wall Street with a strong earnings report after the market closed on Wednesday.