The S&P 500 pulled back on Thursday{
Dow jumps nearly 300 points, S&P finishes lower
The S&P 500 fell 0.25% to end at 5,473.17, giving back gains from earlier in the session.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.79% to finish at 17,721.59. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 299.90 points, or 0.77%, to close at 39,134.76.
— Samantha Subin
The broad market index fell 0.25% to end at 5,473.17. Earlier in the session, the S&P 500 rose as much as 0.34% to hit a new high. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.79% to finish at 17,721.59. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 299.90 points, or 0.77%, to close at 39,134.76.
Money Report
"Seasonally adjusted, it's a low volume period for markets and there doesn't seem to be a whole lot driving things on a day-to-day basis," said Nathan Kotler, head of trading at GenTrust. "You're starting to see some signs of getting a little bit overextended, but there's been an incredible amount of momentum which has continued this week."
Nvidia declined 3.5% after rising earlier in the session. The chipmaker temporarily unseated Microsoft as the most valuable public company on Tuesday. Shares have climbed more than 160% this year as the AI boom continues to boost equities even as consumers show slowing signs of spending.
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Darden Restaurants edged up 1.5% after topping earnings expectations{
Darden rises after earnings release
Darden Restaurants ticked nearly 2% higher in Thursday premarket trading as investors parsed a mixed earnings report.
The restaurant chain stock earned $2.65 per share on an adjusted basis, modestly ahead of the $2.61 consensus forecast from analysts polled by LSEG. But revenue came in at $2.96 billion for the three-month period, just under Wall Street's prediction of $2.97 billion.
Also of note, Olive Garden's same-store sales declined for a second consecutive quarter.
Darden shares have slipped about 7.5% so far this year.
— Alex Harring, Amelia Lucas
Gilead Sciences successful late-stage trialStocks are headed for a winning week, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notching new records. The stock market was closed Wednesday for the Juneteenth holiday.
Excitement around AI has continued push the market higher in recent weeks even as some on Wall Street raise concern over a lack of market breadth outside the technology behemoths that could worsen.
Meanwhile, fresh economic data{
Jobless claims higher than expected; housing, manufacturing readings miss
Initial unemployment claims were higher than expected last week while housing and manufacturing data pointed to a slowdown, according to multiple economic reports released Thursday.
- First-time filings for jobless benefits totaled 238,000 for the week ended June 15, down 5,000 from the previous week but above the 235,000 Dow Jones estimate, according to the Labor Department. Continuing claims totaled 1.828 million, up 15,000.
- Housing starts in May totaled 1.277 million, a 5.5% decrease and below the 1.38 million estimate. Building permits totaled 1.386 million, a 3.8% decline from a month ago and short of the 1.45 million forecast.
- The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Manufacturing Index for June was at 1.3 in June, down from 4.5 in May and below the 5.0 estimate. Prices indexes rose while employment improved but was still negative.
—Jeff Cox
Dow jumps nearly 300 points, S&P finishes lower
The S&P 500 fell 0.25% to end at 5,473.17, giving back gains from earlier in the session.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.79% to finish at 17,721.59. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 299.90 points, or 0.77%, to close at 39,134.76.
— Samantha Subin
Samsara poised to be next high-quality growth stock in AI craze, BofA says
Investors should keep an eye on Samsara ahead of a "massive" wave of artificial intelligence-enabled dashcam adoption, according to Bank of America.
The firm initiated a buy rating on the stock, setting its price target at $37, implying about 25% upside from Tuesday's close. Analyst Matt Bullock wrote in a Thursday note that new offerings from the software company could move the needle for the company's growth in the long term.
"Samsara (IOT) is revolutionizing roadway safety," he wrote. "While dash cam hardware is relatively commoditized, the secret sauce lies in the company's software, which provides real-time coaching via in-cab audio alerts if drivers become distracted or follow other cars too closely."
Shares of the company were marginally higher during Thursday's trading session. The stock was also down more than 28% in one month.
CNBC PRO subscribers can read more here.
— Sean Conlon
Gilead tracks for best day since 2022 following successful HIV prevention drug trial
Gilead Sciences headed for its best day since 2022 after its HIV prevention drug succeeded in a late-stage trial.
The stock popped nearly 9%. If that holds through session close, it would mark the best day since later October 2022, when the stock jumped almost 13%.
Thursday's pop comes after the company's twice-yearly shot to prevent HIV was 100% effective in its third phase of the trial. Gilead now needs to replicate the results before seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
— Alex Harring, Angelica Peebles
Nasdaq Composite pacing for bearish 'outside day'
The Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) is at risk of posting a bearish "outside day" on Thursday if it closes below 17,796.88.
The tech-heavy index turned negative in intraday trading after hitting an all-time high early in the session, putting it on pace to break a seven-day winning streak, its longest since a nine-day rally in December.
Giants like NVIDIA (NVDA), Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) hit all-time highs this morning before turning negative. Both NVDA and CDNS are also pacing for outside days as of mid-afternoon trading.
An "outside day" is a two-day technical trading pattern in which the second day's trading range fully engulfs the prior day's range. Traders often use this pattern to predict reversals in an asset's direction.
— Nick Wells
Nvidia is now worth more than several European markets
Nvidia has ascended to being the biggest of the tech giants, surpassing Microsoft earlier this week. The stock markets of several major world markets are also in the rearview mirror.
Deutsche Bank pointed out in its "chart of the day" that Nvidia's market cap is bigger than the total value of the stock markets in each of France, Germany and the U.K., as measured in US dollars.
In fact, Nvidia's market cap is bigger than the value of every individual stock market except India, Japan, China and the U.S., according to Deutsche Bank.
— Jesse Pound
Less short selling in major averages has helped fuel this bull market run, JPMorgan says
U.S. stocks have benefited from a "steady flow [of] support" from declines in short selling over the past year, according to a JPMorgan note to clients on Thursday.
"One support for the U.S. equity market over the past year emanated from a decline in the short interest on the two biggest equity ETFs," the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and the Invesco QQQ Trust that tracks the performance of the Nasdaq-100 index, strategists led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote. "[T]his short interest has been declining in a rather steady manner since the second quarter of 2023 making successive record lows," they said.
Lower levels of short selling have helped boost prices "as short positions were gradually covered," the bank said.
Short interest as a percentage of outstanding shares in the SPY and QQQ ETFs is close to 7% today, down from roughly 14% to 16% around the time of the regional bank crisis in the first half of 2023, a JPMorgan chart using data from S3 Capital showed.
— Scott Schnipper
Investors are getting ahead of themselves waiting for a small caps comeback, says RBC's Lori Calvasina
Investors hoping for small cap stocks to make a comeback could be in for further disappointment, according to RBC Capital Markets head of U.S. equity Strategy Lori Calvasina.
"It's almost like listening to children who aren't listening to their parents and they're just determined to hear what they wanna hear from the Fed and I think there's gonna be some disappointment [on fed cut timeline]," Calvasina told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Thursday.
— Brian Evans
23 stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week highs
During Thursday's trading session, 23 stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week highs.
Names that hit this milestone included:
On the other hand, three stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week lows. These included Warner Bros. Discovery, Dayforce and Albemarle.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Energy outperforms broader market, while tech leads declines
The energy sector popped more than 2% Thursday while the S&P 500 dropped 0.3%.
Hess gained 3.1% for the day, while Exxon Mobil and Marathon Petroleum added 2.7% each.
Meanwhile, declines in the information technology sector led the broader market lower. The info tech sector shed 1.4%, with Enphase Energy and Jabil falling more than 8%.
Prominent chipmakers also in the red. Nvidia lost 2.7%, while Micron Technology and On Semiconductor lost 5.7% and 4%, respectively.
— Hakyung Kim
Stocks moving in midday trading
Here are some of the companies making big moves during midday trading:
- Accenture — The consulting company jumped 7% after reporting more than $900 million in generative artificial intelligence bookings for its third quarter.
- Gilead Sciences — Shares popped 9% after the biopharma company said a late-stage trial showed its drug, lenacapavir, demonstrated 100% efficacy for HIV prevention in women.
- Super Micro Computer — The stock added 3% following comments from Elon Musk that the company will help his AI firm, xAI, build a supercomputer.
— Michelle Fox
Best performing S&P 500 stocks as index trades near 5,500
The S&P 500 briefly topped 5,500 on Tuesday as the market continues rallying to new heights.
More than three out of every five stocks in the broad index headed for gains in the session, helping it trade near that key level. Here's the five best performers in the S&P 500 as of 12:15 p.m. ET:
- Gilead Sciences, up 8%
- Accenture, up 7.2%
- EPAM Systems, up 6.5%
- Advanced Micro Devices, up 6%
- Super Micro Computer, up 5.2%
— Alex Harring
Dollar reaches highest level against yen since April
The dollar rose to 158.49 against the Japanese yen on Thursday, its strongest level since April 29, when it traded as high as 160.03 against the yen.
The dollar strengthened Tuesday against the offshore Chinese yuan to 7.2879. This was its highest point against the offshore yuan since Nov. 14, 2023, when it traded as high as 7.3056. The stronger dollar and weak yuan led to the rupee falling to a near record low. The dollar surpassed its all-time closing high against the rupee of 83.6498 on Thursday.
— Hakyung Kim, Gina Francolla
Dow outperforms, Salesforce rises 3%
The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed during early-morning trading Thursday, jumping 160 points, or 0.4%.
Salesforce gained 3%, contributing heavily to the rally. Other significant winners included Amazon, Chevron, Intel and Nike, last up more than 1% each.
— Samantha Subin
Longer-term trend for job claims at highest since September
Unemployment claims are pushing higher, with a near-term trend measure at its highest level in more than nine months.
Filings for jobless benefits totaled 238,000 for the week ended June 15, bringing the four-week moving average, which helps smooth out volatility in the numbers up to 232,750, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was an increase of 5,500 from the previous week and the highest level since Sept. 2, 2023.
The four-week moving average of continued claims also popped, rising to 1.806 million, or the highest since Feb. 10.
—Jeff Cox
Softening in labor market needed for lower rates to take hold, strategist says
The bond market has recently seen signs of improvement, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield recently giving back a chunk of its 2024 gains (yields move inversely to prices). However, these moves could be short lived, according to AmeriVet Securities' Gregory Faranello.
"Dynamics have felt better to support the US Treasury market. But to be clear there's been no definitive green light," Faranello, the firm's head of U.S. rates strategy, wrote in a note Thursday.
"Issuers remain extremely active, so more paper is hitting the market. Mortgage rates have come down but nothing demonstrative. The fiscal outlook in the United States hasn't changed. And if you put the plethora of Fed speak in a blender before the holiday it's been relatively consistent, in need of more data, and pointing toward 'later this year.'"
"Let's face it, the inflation data has softened short term. And to really get rates moving lower more aggressively it comes down to the employment market," added Faranello.
— Fred Imbert
Stocks open higher
Stocks opened higher Thursday, with the S&P 500 touching a new record.
The broad index added 0.16%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 40 points, or 0.1%.
— Samantha Subin
Jobless claims higher than expected; housing, manufacturing readings miss
Initial unemployment claims were higher than expected last week while housing and manufacturing data pointed to a slowdown, according to multiple economic reports released Thursday.
- First-time filings for jobless benefits totaled 238,000 for the week ended June 15, down 5,000 from the previous week but above the 235,000 Dow Jones estimate, according to the Labor Department. Continuing claims totaled 1.828 million, up 15,000.
- Housing starts in May totaled 1.277 million, a 5.5% decrease and below the 1.38 million estimate. Building permits totaled 1.386 million, a 3.8% decline from a month ago and short of the 1.45 million forecast.
- The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Manufacturing Index for June was at 1.3 in June, down from 4.5 in May and below the 5.0 estimate. Prices indexes rose while employment improved but was still negative.
—Jeff Cox
Stocks making the biggest moves premarket
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
- Accenture — The tech stock jumped 8.6%. While Accenture missed earnings and revenue expectations in its latest quarter, according to FactSet, the information technology company posted more than $900 million in new generative AI bookings.
- Trump Media & Technology Group — Shares tumbled nearly 12% after the company said Tuesday its registration of additional shares was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The stock is down 36% so far this month.
- Nvidia — The chipmaker rose more than 3%, extending gains from Tuesday when it surpassed Microsoft to become the most valuable public company.
— Sarah Min
Darden rises after earnings release
Darden Restaurants ticked nearly 2% higher in Thursday premarket trading as investors parsed a mixed earnings report.
The restaurant chain stock earned $2.65 per share on an adjusted basis, modestly ahead of the $2.61 consensus forecast from analysts polled by LSEG. But revenue came in at $2.96 billion for the three-month period, just under Wall Street's prediction of $2.97 billion.
Also of note, Olive Garden's same-store sales declined for a second consecutive quarter.
Darden shares have slipped about 7.5% so far this year.
— Alex Harring, Amelia Lucas
Bank of England keeps rates unchanged
The Bank of England kept interest rates steady at 5.25% even after inflation U.K. inflation eased to the central bank's 2% target. Seven policymakers voted to hold rates at their current level, and two were in favor of a cut.
The announcement comes after Switzerland announced its second race cut earlier in the day, while the Federal Reserve on June 12 kept rates unchanged.
— Fred Imbert
Switzerland cuts interest rates for the second time this year
The Swiss National Bank cut its key interest rates by 25 basis points on 1.25% on Thursday.
Previously, two-thirds of economists surveyed by Reuters had predicted the move. Switzerland already has the second-lowest interest rate in the Group of Ten industrialized nations.
Analysts are now debating whether or not the Swiss National Bank could cut rates again for a third time in 2024.
— Lisa Kailai Han
European stocks open slightly higher
European stocks opened marginally higher on Thursday, with investors looking ahead to policy rate decisions from central banks in the U.K., Switzerland and Norway.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 stood 0.1% higher shortly after the opening bell, with most sectors trading in positive territory.
— Sam Meredith
Housing starts, initial jobless claims among economic data due this week
Wall Street is eyeing a collection of economic data beginning on Thursday to close out the second half of the trading week.
Initial jobless claims, housing starts and U.S. building permits are all due out at 8:30 am on Thursday, as well as the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing survey.
Friday morning will see services and manufacturing PMI data, followed by existing home sales figures.
— Brian Evans
Stock futures are little changed on Wednesday
Stock futures were little changed on Wednesday, as investors look to end the shortened trading week higher following the S&P 500's latest record.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 ticked up 0.05%, while Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.2%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 41 points, or 0.2%
— Brian Evans
