US stocks jumped Thursday, as the S&P 500 (^GSPC) closed at a record high. Investors welcomed a slew of updates, including solid US economic data, Micron’s (MU) upbeat earnings, and China’s pledges of more stimulus.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.62%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) added more 0.4% to close at a record high of 5,745.39. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained 0.6% amid a sharp spike in Micron’s shares, which boosted other chips.
A final update from the US government on second quarter GDP growth beat Wall Street expectations, while weekly jobless claims unexpectedly fell to the lowest levels in four months.
Meanwhile, China’s top leaders signaled they are pulling out the stops to revive its moribund economy with new pledges to lift fiscal spending, halt the property crisis, and support the stock market. A big jump in mainland stocks set the CSI 300 (000300.SS) on track for its best week in a decade.
Up next, Friday will bring a highly anticipated reading on the Persona Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, the inflation metric preferred by the Fed.
In individual stock moves, Super Micro Computer (SMCI) tanked 12% after The Wall Street Journal reported the Department of Justice is probing the server maker following a short seller report from Hindenburg Research published last month.
Read more: What the Fed rate cut means for bank accounts, CDs, loans, and credit cards
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Costco posts Q4 earnings beat, revenue miss
Costco (COST) shares were down marginally after the company reported a mixed bag of fourth quarter results.
The retailer reported adjusted earnings per share of $5.29, above Wall Street’s estimates for $5.08 per share. Meanwhile, Costco’s quarterly revenue of $79.7 billion came in slightly below the Street’s estimates of $79.96 billion.
Another record for the S&P 500
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) closed at a record high for the 42nd time this year on Thursday.
Materials (XLB) was the leading sector in the S&P 500, rising more than 2%, while Information Technology (XLK) rose more than 1%.
AMD, Qualcomm stocks jump as Micron earnings boost chipmakers
The US chip sector is feeling Micron’s (MU) post-earnings glow. The PHLX Semiconductor Index (^SOX) jumped nearly 3.7% on Thursday.
Micron stock jumped 15%. Other chip stocks also climbed. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) rose 3.4%, Qualcomm (QCOM) 2.4%, and Intel (INTC) 1.3%.
The surge was fueled by Micron’s fourth quarter earnings report after the bell Wednesday, which included a brighter-than-expected outlook for the upcoming quarter, driven by robust AI demand for its memory chips. Micron is the first chipmaker to report quarterly financial results this earnings season, and its positive report is an encouraging sign for the semiconductor sector.
Nvidia (NVDA) shares were relatively unchanged, rising just 0.16% — though that slight lift was enough to help the AI chipmaker rejoin the $3 trillion market cap club after a rocky start to the month. The company’s shares fell sharply after reporting second quarter earnings in late August. The stock fell further on a Bloomberg report in early September that the US Department of Justice subpoenaed Nvidia, which the company subsequently denied.
China stocks lift off on hopes of more stimulus
Chinese-tied US equities soared again on Thursday as the nation’s top leaders pledged to support fiscal spending and help the floundering real estate sector on Thursday.
The news marked the second large announcement from Chinese officials about incoming stimulus this week.
KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB) rallied more than 11% on Thursday, extending its five-day gains to more than 11%. Meanwhile, Online retail giants Alibaba (BABA), Pinduoduo (PDD), and JD.com (JD) all rose more than 10% on the day.
Below is a look at how a basket of China-tied US equities have performed this week.
Source: Yahoo Finance
30-year mortgage rate hits 2-year low
The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage nudged down slightly this week to hit its lowest level in two years.
Yahoo Finance’s Claire Boston reports:
Thirty-year mortgage rates averaged 6.08% as of Thursday, down from 6.09% a week earlier, according to Freddie Mac data.
Average 15-year mortgage rates rose one basis point to 5.16%.
Read more here.
The US economy didn’t really have two negative quarters of GDP in 2022
A slew of revisions to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) came out on Thursday. And while the focus is largely on recent data, the revisions went back several years — and one in particular caught our eye.
Initially, the Bureau of Economic Analysis had reported that growth in the US economy declined at a 0.6% annualized rate in the second quarter of 2022. This followed a negative print in the first quarter and, at the time, stirred recession discussion as two negative quarters of GDP is an often referenced indicator of recession.
But after some revisions revealed on Thursday, it turns out the US never actually had two negative quarters of GDP. Revisions to GDP data now show the US economy grew by an annualized rate of 0.6% in the second quarter of 2022.
This leaves us with some clarity on why one of the most widely anticipated recessions in history was never officially called by the National Bureau of Economic Research. It also serves as a reminder of why predicting recessions is so hard, and even some of the most prominent recession indicator creators have told Yahoo Finance there’ll likely never be a perfect tool for such a practice.
S&P 500 poised for record close
The benchmark index is on track to close at a new all-time-high Thursday, as investors cheered on a batch of encouraging updates, including solid US economic data, Micron’s (MU) upbeat earnings, and China’s pledges of more stimulus. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is also expected to deliver a statement Thursday along with other Fed speakers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.6%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) added about 0.3% after both gauges slipped back from all-time highs in the prior session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained close to 0.3% amid a sharp spike in Micron’s shares.
Super Micro stock tanks 13% on report of Justice Department probe
Super Micro Computer stock tanked more than 13% and shares were temporarily halted for volatility after the Wall Street journal reported the Justice Department is investigating the maker of data center servers.
The probe comes after short seller Hindenburg Research in August released a report claiming, among other things, “accounting manipulation” at the artificial intelligence high flyer.
Shares dropped as much as 17% immediately following the report and were temporarily halted for volatility.
Meta stock briefly hits all-time high as Wall Street bets on AI vision
Yahoo Finance’s Laura Bratton reports:
Meta stock (META) briefly traded at a new all-time intraday high Thursday, following a developer event that put its artificial intelligence ambitions on display.
Shares rose as high as $577 after market open before edging down 0.7%, or around $564, mid-morning.
At Meta Connect 2024 on Wednesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled Meta’s newest AI model, Llama 3.2.
Read more here.
Target CEO hopes the company will eventually remove locked cases as it combats retail theft
Yahoo Finance’s Brooke DiPalma reports:
Target (TGT) is trying to thread the needle as it combats retail’s long-running problem: store theft.
“I feel so much better today than I did a year ago,” Target CEO Brian Cornell said in an interview with Yahoo Finance for its Lead This Way series. “It comes back to support at the federal level, at the state level, and at the local level.”
Cornell commented on recent legislation, including state initiatives in California which are “starting to crack down” on marketplace abuses.
Read more here.
A government shutdown is averted for now — but two new spending fights loom
Yahoo Finance’s Ben Werschkul reports:
One last bit of pre-election lawmaking is now complete after Congress staved off a shutdown and funded the government for three months.
“I want to thank both houses of Congress,” President Joe Biden said in a statement “for this bipartisan agreement and for avoiding a costly government shutdown.”
But the reprieve will be short-lived, with the plan now setting up lawmakers to be right back in the middle of multiple spending fights when they return to Washington after voters have their say in November.
Read more here.
Oil tanks 3% on report Saudi Arabia vows more supply in December
Oil tanked more than 3% on Thursday after the Financial Times reported Saudi Arabia is determined to start unwinding voluntary production cuts starting Dec. 1, even if it means lower crude prices.
On Thursday West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) fell to trade below $68 per barrel. Brent (BZ=F), the international benchmark price, also dropped below $71 per barrel.
OPEC+ has delayed bringing more barrels onto the market in an effort to support higher prices. The oil alliance led by Saudi Arabia has been losing market share to the US and other crude-producing nations.
Last year the US produced record amounts of oil and natural gas.
Stocks rise on strong economic growth data, chip stocks gain
US stocks rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 (^GSPC) hitting an intraday record high following the release of a stronger-than-expected GDP print and upbeat earnings from Micron (MU) sending the chip sector higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.5%, while the S&P 500 added 0.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the markets higher, surging 1.2% as Micron shares rose.
Micron’s results helped lift the chip sector, including AI heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA), which rose more than 2% in early trading.
The latest economic data shows second quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) rose 3% year over year, a faster pace than Wall Street had expected.
Fresh economic data comes in better than expected
The US economy grew at a 3% annualized pace in the second quarter, a faster pace than Wall Street had expected.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis’s third estimate of second quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) was unchanged from the second estimate, which showed 3% annualized growth. Economists had estimated the reading to show annualized growth of 2.9%. The third estimate for second quarter GDP confirms that economic growth was higher than the 1.4% annualized growth seen in the first quarter.
Separately, data from the US Labor Department released Thursday showed 218,000 unemployment claims were filed in the week ending Sept. 21, below Wall Street’s expectations for 223,000. This marked the lowest level of weekly claims since the middle of May.
Also out Thursday, durable goods orders for August were flat, better than the 2.6% decline Wall Street had expected.
