The stock market is trading higher midday after a week of encouraging economic indicators, with inflation cooling and retail sales and jobless figures coming in better than expected.
Consumer sentiment in August increased to 67.8, up from 66.4 in July and surpassing the 66.6 forecast, according to the University of Michigan’s survey. The university also reported flat inflation data for the current month.
The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average are all up around 0.2%. The Russell 2000 Index rose 0.3%.
Related: CPI inflation report upsets betting on big Federal Reserve rate cut
Trending stocks: Nvidia (NVDA) has popped for the fifth consecutive day, up 1.3%, and traded around $124 midday at last check. Tesla (TSLA) , Apple (AAPL) , and Google-parent Alphabet (GOOGL) are up at last check. Facebook-parent Meta Platforms (META) lost 1.6%. Ulta Beauty's (ULTA) stock continued to rally after Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) took a stake. Chinese e-commerce giants JD.com (JD) and Alibaba (BABA) both surged after earnings.
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S&P 500 big stock movers today
Five S&P 500 stocks making big midday moves at last check are:
- Bath & Body Works Inc (BBWI) +3.8%
- Ulta Beauty, +3.6%
- Tapestry Inc (TPR) +3.1%
- Dexcom Inc (DXCM) +2.9%
- Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (TTWO) +2.8%
The worst-performing five S&P 500 stocks with the largest midday drop at last check are:
- Amcor PLC (AMCR) -5.2%
- Palo Alto Networks Inc (PANW) -2.9%
- First Solar Inc (FSLR) -2.8%
- Ge Vernova Inc (GEV) -2.7%
- Carnival Corp (CCL) -2.5%
Stocks also worth noting with significant moves include:
- Tesla +1.7%
- Nvidia +1.3%
- Meta Platforms -1.6%
- JD.com +7.4%
- Alibaba +5.4%
- Applied Materials (AMAT) -1.7%
JD.com and Alibaba surge on earnings results
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com jumped 7% midday after reporting a second-quarter earnings beat.
The company earned 9.36 Chinese yuan ($7.17) per share for the quarter, a 73.7% increase that surpassed the estimated 6.07 yuan. Revenue came in at 291.4 billion yuan, just shy of the expected 291.47 billion yuan. JD.com credits the earnings growth to low prices, growth in logistics services, and investment success.
JD.com’s bigger rival Alibaba also surged 5%. The Chinese fintech and e-commerce group reported its June quarter revenue of 243.24 billion yuan ($34.01 billion) on Thursday, compared with the 249.05 billion yuan expected.
Related: Analysts reboot Alibaba stock price target after earnings
Despite the slowdown in Chinese consumer demand, Alibaba posted strong growth in its cloud service, up 6% year over year, which was the fastest growth rate since Q2 2022.
Applied Materials fell despite earnings beat
Applied Materials shares lost 1.7% despite upbeat fiscal third-quarter earnings.
The semiconductor equipment company earned $2.12 per share, surpassing the $2.03 per share estimated. Its revenue reached $6.78 billion for the quarter, also topping the forecast of $6.68 billion.
The company sees a “strong pull related to AI and data center computing” and expects its revenue for the current quarter to be $6.93 billion, up 3% year over year at the midpoint.
“The race for AI leadership will, in large part, be determined by which companies in the semiconductor industry are first to deliver substantial improvements in energy-efficient compute performance,” said CEO Gary Dickerson in the earnings call. “The value of bringing next-generation semiconductor technology to market faster has never been greater.”
Amcor tumbles following revenue miss
Amcor stock lost 5% after the company revealed mixed financial results.
For the fiscal fourth quarter ending June 30, the packaging company reported adjusted earnings per share of 21 cents, exceeding the estimated 2 cents. But revenue of $3.54 billion missed the analyst projections of $3.63 billion.
More Retail Stocks:
- Analysts reboot Amazon stock price targets after earnings
- Costco makes an unpopular policy change (maybe for a good reason)
- Amazon CEO warns of trend that’s making consumers flee pharmacies
The company now expects adjusted earnings to fall between 72 cents and 76 cents per share in FY 2025, slightly below the consensus estimate of 75 cents.
The company also warned of weak demand ahead. “Consumer demand continues to be muted. We would consider that to be low-single-digit down still. And also when we go into ’25 with our expectations, we wouldn’t assume that that necessarily improves,” said CEO Peter Konieczny in an earnings call.
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
