Major indexes rose sharply just before the closing bell Thursday after key inflation data brought no surprises to investors in the stock market today. Meanwhile, a Fed official gave his views on rate cuts for this year. Also, the House voted to extend funding for certain agencies to avoid a shutdown.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday released its Personal Income and Outlays price index, or PCE, for January. The index met views, according to Econoday, by rising 0.3%. On an annual basis, the index climbed 2.4%, also as expected. The core inflation price index also held no surprises and met views, rising 0.4% month-on-month and 2.8% annually.
According to the CME FedWatch Tool, there is a 97.5% chance that rates will stay at 5.25%-5.5% at the March Fed meeting. That falls slightly to 80.7% for May, but in June the probability of a rate cut stands at 52.8%. Meanwhile, Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic again said that a rate cut in the summer may be "appropriate."
Elsewhere on Thursday, lawmakers voted on and passed a stopgap funding bill to avert a partial government shutdown over the weekend. The bill seeks to extend funding for certain agencies and keep the government fully operating after Friday. The bill now goes to the Senate.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department released initial jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 25. Claims rose to 215,000, higher than economist expectations of 210,000. In housing data, the National Association of Realtors said pending home sales in January fell sharply, by 4.9%, vs. views for a 0.8% gain.
Stock Market Today: Dow Flat, S&P And Nasdaq Rise
The Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered around the break-even mark in afternoon trading but rose 0.1% just before trading ended, breaking a three-day pullback. The S&P 500 was up 0.5% in recent action, as health care and consumer staples sectors lagged, while communication services and technology moved up.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq was up 0.9%. And small caps continued to do well, with the Russell 2000 trading 0.7% higher.
Volume on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq ran higher on the stock market today compared with the same time Wednesday.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 2 basis points to 4.25%. But the growth-focused Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund was up 1.2%, ending near session highs.
Dow Jones Stocks
Among Dow Jones stocks, Salesforce fell hard in the early going after it gave a weak revenue outlook for fiscal 2025. But the stock quickly made up for the loss and traded 3% higher.
Boeing fell 1.6%. News that the Federal Aviation Administration gave it a 90-day ultimatum to come up with a quality control plan pressured the stock. The action follows the midair accident on an Alaska Airlines jet in January.
Also on the Dow, Intel and Walt Disney climbed as did the Dow's newest addition, Amazon.com. Disney edged closer to a buy point of 112.92 in a cup with handle. Intel climbed 2.5% while Amazon added 2.1%.
Other Movers On The Stock Market Today
Outside the Dow, software maker Snowflake plunged more than 18% on a weak outlook, though it delivered solid fourth-quarter results. Shares have undercut the 50-day moving average in heavy volume, a clear sell signal.
Other software names including C3.ai, Nutanix and Duolingo were also earnings movers. Duolingo gave a strong forecast for the year as it integrates artificial intelligence tools into its language learning platform. Shares rocketed 22% and approached a buy point of 245.87.
C3.ai posted a loss that was lower than expected and gave a revenue outlook for the current quarter that edged past analyst expectations. Shares cleared the 50-day line and broke out past a 33.91 buy point as they soared more than 24%. Nutanix, meanwhile, surged 7% on its earnings report.
Pure Storage catapulted 24% after sales and earnings surprised analysts late Wednesday. The data storage play also topped revenue expectations for the current quarter.
Best Buy, Zscaler, Veeva, Celsius
In retail, Best Buy reduced a big gain to 1.5% after a strong quarter. The stock is building a double-bottom base with a buy point of 85.40, although the Jan. 2 high of 79.54 could be viewed as an alternate entry.
IBD Leaderboard holding Zscaler plunged over 5% in after-hours trades after it announced second quarter results. Sales decelerated 35% to $525 million. For the current quarter, the cybersecurity leader expects sales of $535 million at the midpoint, which is 27% growth.
Veeva Systems slipped slightly even as it tried to break out of a consolidation at 225.49. Granite Construction cleared a handle entry at 51.38 but pulled back just below that threshold.
Celsius Holdings soared 20% and broke out past a 68.95 entry after its fourth-quarter report. Shares were extended in the stock market today.
Please follow VRamakrishnan on X/Twitter for more news on the stock market today.
