Dow Rises More Than 160 Points to Notch Third Straight Day of Gains, S&P 500 Hits New Closing High for 2023: Live Updates

Stocks climbed Thursday as the market built on its recent gains, and traders looked ahead to key inflation data next week as well as the Federal Reserve's latest policy announcement.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 168.59 points, or 0.5%, to close at 33,833.61. The S&P 500 traded 0.62% higher and ended the day at 4,293.93 — its highest closing level in 2023. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.02%, closing at 13,238.52.

Amazon propelled tech shares higher after bullish analyst commentary. The e-commerce giant's shares rose 2.5% and helped the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) climb more than 1%.

The S&P 500 is coming off a down session but is still within striking distance of the key 4,300 level. The broader market index also hit its highest level since August this week, adding to a 2.7% rally month to date. The index is higher 11.8% year to date.

Small-cap stocks have been showing strength in recent weeks. The Russell 2000 is up 7.5% in June and almost 7% year to date, indicating a potentially more resilient economy beyond the big-tech boom. However, the index dipped 0.4% on Thursday.

"For all the folks who are very concerned about the narrowness of the rally, there is a little bit of a rotation going on into some of the more beat-down value and cyclical stocks. ... So overall, pretty healthy activity," said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird.

Investors seem to be in a holding pattern while awaiting the Fed's upcoming policy meeting on June 13 and 14. Economic signs suggest that inflation is inching down, even as it remains above the central bank's 2% target. Mayfield added that the Fed may "feel a little bit more comfortable pausing in June, with plenty of optionality through July and beyond."

New data released on Thursday showed initial jobless claims reached their highest level since October 2021, indicating a potentially softening labor market. The uptick also raised hopes that the Fed would pause its rate-hiking campaign at its meeting next week.

However, Mayfield noted a pause may not necessarily mean an end to its rate-hike campaign. He said the Bank of Canada's decision to resume raising rates after a pause earlier this week could "add some color to a Fed decision."

Markets are pricing a roughly 72% chance that the Fed keeps rates steady at the next meeting, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

— CNBC's Jeff Cox contributed to this report.

Recession risks still remain, says Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management

Although the "better-behaved" market in recent days may have given investors some optimism a recession is off the cards, according to Brent Schutte, chief investment officer at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management.

"With the Fed now [expected to] stop hiking and are supposedly not having had a recession yet. I think many people think that coast is clear. That's certainly not what we believe. We do believe there will be a recession," said Schutte.

— Hakyung Kim

Watch these stocks as they signal bullish run in the past five trading sessions

A collection of stocks are trading above their respective 50-day moving average, which is a key level that could signal a bullish turn.

While still falling short of the celebrated "golden cross," a stock's price trading above its 50-day moving average is still a key indicator that more upside could be on the horizon.

CNBC screened for stocks within the S&P 500 using FactSet data. The list includes names like Caterpillar and General Motors as well as finance sector picks Citizens and Truist Financial.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full list here.

— Brian Evans, Nick Wells

The markets aren't yet 'out of the woods,' says MJP Wealth Advisors

Conflicting economic data is making a case for both the market bulls and bears, creating a "little bit of a tug of war" between the equity markets and fixed income markets, says Brian Vendig, president at MJP Wealth Advisors.

"Everyone's been calling for this recession that never occurs, [and] is now getting pushed off a little bit more into the future," Vendig said. "We're still seeing a strong consumer. And the bear case is that now the data is starting to show that maybe the consumer is starting to slow spending, which means you might be going into a weaker economy."

He added that the markets are not yet "necessarily out of the woods" as recessionary concerns linger.

"We're starting to see it in a little bit of the data that lending to smaller businesses is slowing. And I think that does some of the work that the Fed is hoping for is slowing the economy is demand," Vendig added.

— Hakyung Kim

Is the economic recovery becoming 'K-shaped'?

Thursday's surprisingly high jobless claims report was the latest in a series of conflicting data points about the U.S. economy, which has so far defied expectations by avoiding a recession.

But rising layoffs could in particular strain lower income consumers who are already fighting with stubborn inflation and credit card debt, creating the risk of a "K-shaped" economy.

"We're seeing in the aggregate data a major bifurcation between lower- and middle-income segments of the consumer to the broader economy and the higher-income consumers," said Lauren Goodwin, economist and portfolio strategist at New York Life Investments. 

— Jesse Pound

This little known clean energy play could jump nearly 70%, says Stifel

One cryogenic equipment maker is gaining momentum, and could jump about 70%, according to Stifel.

"As we move into the second half of the year, there should be an acceleration of cost synergies as further opportunities are identified," Benjamin Nolan wrote Wednesday. "The company believes there is a meaningful amount of further upside for synergy orders which has been extremely broad-based so far and opened the doors to new customers."

— Sarah Min

Individual investor bullishness soars to 19-month high in latest AAII weekly survey

Bullishness toward the stock market over the next six months climbed to 44.5% of investors answering a weekly survey from the American Association of Individual Investors, the highest since November, 2021 and up from 29.1% last week. The bullish historical average is 37.5%.

Bearish opinion mirrored the bulls, slumping to 24.3% of respondents, the lowest since November, 2021, and down from 36.8% last week. The bearish historical average is 31%.

— Scott Schnipper

Market volatility measure reaches lowest level since February 2020

The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, fell to 13.55 Thursday, marking its lowest point since Feb. 14, 2020.

The VIX is widely perceived as a gauge of market uncertainty. It uses S&P 500 stock index options prices to measure the market's expectations of near-term volatility. 

— Hakyung Kim, Chris Hayes

It's time to take some risk off the table, says Wilmington Trust's Tony Roth

A handful of major tech names are behind the market's big ride in 2023, and now might a good time to dial back some of that equity exposure, according to Tony Roth, CIO of Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors.

"I think that if you've been bold enough to lean into risk in this environment, you won't be the kind of person to take risk off the table, but in our view, we maintain a modest underweight to risky assets," he said. Roth anticipates an impending drawdown in equity values between now and the end of the year, adding that inflation remains high and sticky.

The firm is now overweight on fixed income, in particular it likes municipal bonds for clients in taxable accounts. "Even if we have a recession, we expect default rates to be extremely low for investment grade municipals, and even on the lower end of the investment grade spectrum, there is a lot of value," Roth said.

-Darla Mercado

Amazon, GameStop among Thursday's biggest midday movers

These are some of the stocks moving during midday trading:

GameStop — The meme stock tumbled nearly 18% after the company fired CEO Matthew Furlong and appointed Ryan Cohen as executive chairman, effective immediately. The company didn't provide a reason for the termination.

Amazon — The e-commerce stock added 2.8% on the back of a bullish analyst call. Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Amazon with an overweight rating, saying shares could rally more than 30% as it transitions to its regional fulfillment model.

Carvana — Shares popped more than 45% after the online car seller issued an upbeat outlook for the second quarter. Carvana said it now expects non-GAAP total gross profit per unit to come in above $6,000 in the second quarter.

Read the full list here.

— Samantha Subin

BTIG's Krinsky says 'vicious rotation' puts market at risk

The market's looking increasingly vulnerable as investors rotate out of growth and into some of 2023's lagging sectors, according to BTIG's Jonathan Krinsky.

"A vicious rotation out of mega-cap growth into cyclical value has resulted in a major bullish sentiment shift (many indicators most bullish since Nov. '21), which leaves the broad markets more vulnerable, in our view," the chief market technician wrote in a Thursday note.

This sentiment shift and sector rotation "suggest caution is warranted," Krinsky said, adding that he sees downside toward the 4,200 breakout level.

— Samantha Subin

Amazon pulls up consumer discretionary and tech sector funds

Consumer discretionary stocks and tech names led market gains on Thursday, with Amazon providing a boost to both sectors.

The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) was the highest-gaining sector, rising 1.4%. Tesla was the top outperformer in the sector, up 3.5%, followed by Amazon jumping 3.1%.

The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) was almost 1%, with Amazon leading the sector's gains.

— Hakyung Kim

Howmet Aerospace trades at all-time highs

Howmet Aerospace was trading at all-time highs on Thursday, going back to its Alcoa spinoff in November 2016.

Other stocks trading at fresh 52-week highs include the Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway, which were hovering at levels not seen since April 2022. Otis Worldwide, which makes elevators and escalators, was trading at highs not seen since January 2022.

On the other hand, Advance Auto Parts was trading at lows not seen since October 2012. Testing laboratories stock Revvity was at lows not seen since September 2020.

— Sarah Min, Chris Hayes

Citi opens a positive catalyst watch on Wayfair

Citi analyst Ygal Arounian opened a 90-day positive catalyst watch on Wayfair, saying the online home goods retailer is returning to strength as it works through its inventory troubles.

The catalyst watch comes after Wayfair's latest business update, which showed improving quarter-to-date gross revenue. Of note, year-over-year total order growth turning positive, the analyst said.

"The expectation, which was also shared by Wayfair management on its 1Q23 earnings call, is that we are getting closer to clearing out the higher-priced inventory and turning to a healthier inventory environment, which should further support a return to better fundamentals later in the year," Arounian wrote on Wednesday.

The analyst also reiterated a buy rating, and raised his price target to $65 from $57, implying 31% upside for the stock from Wednesday's close.

— Sarah Min

Bank of America calls this conglomerate an A.I. beneficiary, says new technology should boost 'wallet share' gains

Bank of America is getting more bullish on Thomson Reuters, viewing artificial intelligence as a long-term share-taking opportunity.

"We think that TRI will benefit (rather than get disintermediated) by generative AI," wrote analyst Heather Balsky. "We view its proprietary content and trusted brand as a competitive moat and advantage."

Balsky views AI, and plans to invest more than 100 million annual in the technology, as an opportunity for Thomson Reuters to take "wallet share" and rationalize higher prices. Merger and acquisitions should also enable the company to enhance AI-related technology capabilities, she added.

— Samantha Subin

Water-tech stock's smart acquisition makes it worth buying, Goldman says

Xylem is worth buying after what Goldman Sachs called a transformational acquisition of fellow water technology firm Evoqua.

Analyst Brian Lee reinitiated its buy rating on Xylem with a price target of $133. His target implies a 24.2% upside from where the stock closed Wednesday.

"Simply put, we believe XYL's acquisition of Evoqua has strong strategic merit as it will add to XYL's already broad portfolio of water infrastructure and treatment solutions, strengthen its footing in industrial end markets, and further solidifies XYL as an ESG winner, all while being able to realize meaningful cost synergies in the coming years," Lee said in a note to clients Wednesday.

CNBC Pro subscribers can click here to read more.

— Alex Harring

Jefferies says Macao reopening is better reflected in casino stocks' share prices

Jefferies analyst David Katz downgraded Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts to hold from buy, noting the impacts of a popular gambling destination in China's reopening has been better priced in.

"We believe the bull case arguments for growth in both cases remain," he said in a note to clients Thursday. But, "while the recovery in Macau remains early stage, we believe these dynamics are relatively well understood by the market and approximately priced in at present levels."

Still, his price targets on both show the stocks should rally over the next 12 month, albeit less than he previously expected.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Alex Harring

UBS lifts Amazon price target

UBS hiked its price target on Amazon to $150 from $130 previously, seeing AWC incorporate generative AI by the fourth quarter.

"We see room for AMZN shares to move higher as AWS reaccelerates in 4Q as Bedrock expands. Our May 24th AI day, combined with other channel feedback, make us more sanguine on AWS prospects in GenAI," UBS said in a note.

The new forecast would translate into a 23% rally from Wednesday's close of $121.74. The e-commerce giant has surged 45% this year.

— Yun Li

GameStop will downsize retail footprint further and cut costs after quarterly results, Baird says

GameStop's business strategy is shifting after the firing of chief executive Matt Furlong, according to Baird Equity Research.

The firm said in a Thursday note that while it isn't fully clear why Furlong was ousted, the company seems to be shifting its priorities back to a similar position before the company plunged into non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in 2022.

"Moreover, the company's 'business priorities' now sound a lot like they were before the NFT-craze," analyst Colin Sebastian said.. "Expect more cost-cutting, store closings, and merchandise experiments."

GameStop announced the firing of Furlong on Wednesday after disappointing quarterly results. Shares of GameStop plunged almost 20% Thursday.

— Brian Evans

Stocks open flat Thursday

U.S. stocks opened little-changed Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 18 points, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 traded just above the flatline, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1%.

— Hakyung Kim

Carvana surges after raising outlook

Shares of Carvana jumped 25% in premarket trading after the online auto retailer announced an improved financial outlook.

Carvana said it expects to have total gross profit per unit above $6,000 in the second quarter, which would be more than 60% above the level from the same quarter last year. The previous outlook was for above $5,000, according to StreetAccount.

"Our record-breaking 2023 first quarter is evidence that our strategy is working, and our updated Q2 2023 outlook demonstrates that our progress continues to positively impact the business even faster than expected," says Ernie Garcia, Carvana founder and CEO, said in the press release.

— Jesse Pound

Wolfe gets bullish on T-Mobile again

Wolfe Research returned to its outperform rating on T-Mobile after a stint on the sidelines.

Analyst Peter Supino upgraded shares of the telecommunication giant to outperform from peer perform after downgrading them in January. His $160 price target implies an upside of 26.4% over where the stock closed Wednesday.

Shares rose about 0.9% in premarket trading Thursday. But the stock has underperformed this year, making Supino optimistic that there's upside to come: "At today's price and after ~21% YTD underperformance, investors need neither estimate nor multiple upside to outperform," he said in a note to clients."

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more on Supino's upgrade here.

— Alex Harring

HVAC stock drops 3% in premarket following Morgan Stanley downgrade

Morgan Stanley moved to the sidelines on HVAC stock Carrier Global, saying a lack of near-term catalysts overshadowed strong long-term potential. Shares were down more than 3% in premarket trading.

Analyst Joshua Pokrzywinski downgraded the HVAC stock to equal weight from overweight and cut his price target by $2. Pokrzywinski's new price target of $47 implies a 3.1% upside over Wednesday's close.

"We believe CARR's portfolio transition will ultimately create a faster growing purer HVAC company and remain constructive on the business longer term," he said in a note to clients Thursday. "But view the lack of near-term catalysts and relative resilience vs. other HVAC names as an opportunity to focus elsewhere for the next few quarters."

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Alex Harring

Weekly jobless claims show unexpected increase

Initial jobless claims posted an unexpected jump last week, indicating that the labor market could be softening up.

First-time filings for unemployment benefits totaled 261,000 for the week ended June 3, up 28,000 from the previous period and well ahead of the Dow Jones estimate of 235,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

That's the highest weekly level for claims since Oct. 20, 2021.

Continuing claims fell on the week, dropping 37,000 to 1.757 million.

—Jeff Cox

Stocks making the biggest premarket moves

Here are some of the names making the biggest moves in premarket trading:

• GameStop — The meme stock tumbled about 22%. The company announced Wednesday the ousting of chief executive Matthew Furlong and said Ryan Cohen would take over as executive chairman.
• Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands — The casino operators both dropped more than 2% after being downgraded by Jeffries to hold from buy. The Wall Street firm said the Macao recovery is already priced into the stocks.
• Signet Jewelers — Shares sank nearly 11% after the jeweler's second-quarter revenue and operating-income guidance fell short of expectations. Signet also lowered its full-year earnings and revenue guidance to below expectations.

To see more stocks moving in the premarket, read the full story here.

— Michelle Fox

Coinbase shares are ‘uninvestable in the near term,’ says Berenberg’s Palmer

Coinbase shares remain under pressure following a major sell-off Tuesday after the SEC brought its long anticipated lawsuit against the company. They were down 2% in premarket trading Thursday morning.

After a wave of reactions from Wall Street analysts this week, Berenberg Capital Markets on Thursday called the stock "uninvestable" for the time being, reiterating its hold rating on the stock but lowering its price target.

"We had expected COIN to report weak Q223 trading volumes even before the SEC filed a lawsuit against it on Tuesday, and we believe the overhang from the suit could result in persistent weakness in the company's trading volumes as well as a reduction in the amount of assets on its platform," Berenberg analyst Mark Palmer said in a note Thursday.

And while the lawsuit itself was unsurprising to many, a show cause order issued to the company by 10 states creates more uncertainty around Coinbase's staking program, he added.

— Tanaya Macheel

Earnings estimates at risk for super regional banks, Stephens says

Regional bank stocks have been making a comeback, with the S&P SPDR Regional Banking ETF (KRE) rising for four out of five days and breaking above its 50-day moving average.

However, there could be renewed pressure on the stocks of the largest regional banks ahead ahead as bank executives discuss the second quarter and the regulatory outlook at a conference next week, according to Stephens analyst Terry McEvoy.

"Comments on the potential changes to the regulatory environment for larger banks, most notably higher capital requirements following the bank failures in March and April, may hit the headlines. Earnings estimates could be at risk from quarterly deposit updates (betas, mix shift, and balances). CMA is typically one to watch out for," Stephens said in a note to clients.

— Jesse Pound

'Sentiment at odds with valuation,' says Bank of America's Savita Subramanian

Although market sentiment is broadly negative, many stocks are trading at high valuations, Bank of America's head of U.S. equity strategy Savita Subramanian noted.

"Stocks do trade at statistically rich levels on most measures. But where one might expect multiples to expand with inflows and compress with outflows, the correlation between equity flows and valuations is effectively zero," the strategist wrote in a Thursday note.

She added that valuation on normalized earnings may have "strong explanatory power" on long-term returns, but low predictive power over near-term returns.

— Hakyung Kim

Small-cap rally nearing its end, Wolfe Research says

The small-cap Russell 2000 index is up nearly 8% this month alone, recovering some ground against its large-cap rivals. However, that rally is shortly coming to an end, according to Rob Ginsberg of Wolfe Research.

"The all-time relative lows vs. the NASDAQ, FANG+ in particular, that we discussed last week didn't last long for the Russell 2000. ... Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, as signs are starting to emerge that this sharp rally is nearing its finale," he said.

"On the cusp of overbought, the RTY is approaching heavy resistance in the 1900-1950 zone," Ginsberg added. "Longer-term, we could see them working on a relative basis, but if small caps are going to reverse short-term and consolidate, this is the spot."

— Fred Imbert, Michael Bloom

Watch 4,300 on the S&P 500

The 4,300 level on the S&P 500 will be key for the market as investors weigh whether Wall Street's recent rally can continue. On Wednesday, the broader market index reached a high of 4,299.19.

The S&P 500 hasn't traded above that level since mid-August.

— Fred Imbert

U.S. Treasury yields climb as investors assess interest rate outlook

U.S. Treasurys rose on Thursday as investors prepared for the Federal Reserve's next interest rate policy decision, which is expected on June 14. In a week that is light on the data front, investors reflected on economic reports and comments from central bank officials made since the last Fed meeting.

At 4:14 a.m. ET, the 10-year Treasury yield was trading more than one basis point higher at 3.7973%. The 2-year Treasury yield was up by over one basis point to 4.565%.

European equity markets open marginally lower

European stocks opened marginally lower Thursday as global markets appeared hesitant and lacking in direction.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.2% at market open, with most sectors trading in negative territory. Tech stocks led losses with a 1.3% downturn, followed by household goods which were down 0.8%. Minor gains were led by a 1% uptick in oil and gas stocks.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

Binance lawyers claim SEC chair Gary Gensler offered to serve as advisor to firm

Lawyers for cryptocurrency firm Binance are alleging that U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler offered to serve as an advisor to the firm's parent company in 2019.

Court documents filed by the SEC on Wednesday showed that lawyers from Gibson Dunn and Latham & Watkins, two of Binance's law firms, allege Gensler floated the idea with Binance executives and founder Changpeng Zhao in meetings throughout March 2019.

Gensler has regularly called for greater oversight of the crypto sector.

Read the full story here.

— Brian Evans, Rohan Goswami

U.S. regional banking headwinds won't spill over to the Euro zone, JPMorgan says

Stress from the regional banking crisis in the U.S. this year isn't likely to afflict the Euro zone, according to JPMorgan.

Economist Ravi Balakrishnan wrote in a Wednesday note that European banks haven't yet felt any material headwinds from the liquidity crisis in regional banks even though they have both lower deposit insurance levels.

Balakrishnan also noted that Euro zone banks have "stickier deposits" as well as smaller downside risk for "unrecognized market-to-market losses."

"...while Euro area banks are less profitable than their US counterparts, they score better on several measures of solvency, liquidity and funding stability," Balakrishnan said.

— Brian Evans

An effective use of recent rallies? Take some profits and look for yield, says BofA's Jared Woodard

This year's hot runup for tech names presents a plum opportunity for investors to cash in some chips and invest those proceeds elsewhere, said Jared Woodard, investment and ETF strategist at Bank of America.

"Investors should use rallies in tech and other kinds of megacap growth assets to take profits and to invest in other parts of the market where there's better valuation opportunities," he said on "Closing Bell: Overtime" Wednesday evening.

"I think that the top priority for investors this year has to be to capture yield where they can, to protect against deflation and the recession we think is coming and to keep hedges in place if the stagflationary risks from 2022 prove to be a continuing threat," he added.

For yield-seeking investors, he highlighted the iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF (PFF). "If you're looking for income, I think these beaten-down preferreds are a top place to look," Woodard said.

-Darla Mercado

GameStop slides nearly 20% after ousting of chief executive Matthew Furlong

Shares of meme stock favorite GameStop slid nearly 20% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company disclosed the termination of chief executive Matthew Furlong.

The company did not provide a reason for Furlong's ousting. GameStop said board chairman Ryan Cohen would assume the role of executive chairman. A company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said Furlong was fired on Monday, but he will still receive some payments and benefits in relation to "a termination without cause."

GameStop stock has gained more than 40% from the start of the year.

— Brian Evans

Stock futures open little changed

Stock futures moved little on Wednesday night, with all three major indexes opening roughly flat.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 7 points, or 0.02%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were 0.02% and 0.1% lower, respectively.

All eyes on Wall Street are seemingly fixated on the Federal Reserve's next policy meeting on June 13 and 14. Weekly jobless data as well as wholesale inflation data is due out Thursday.

— Brian Evans