Stocks finished higher Thursday as investors responded to AI chipmaker Nvidia's earnings and a move by the U.S. Justice Department to break up Google-parent Alphabet.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 461.88, or 1.06%, to finish the session at 43,870.35, while the S&P 500 rose 0.53% to 5,948.71 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 0.03% to 18,972.42.
Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial, said that outside of Nvidia, the broader semiconductor space failed to clear a relatively high bar this earnings season.
“While most companies delivered solid earnings per share and revenue growth in the third quarter, there has been little reward from investors,” he said.
Turnquist noted that the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOXX) components beat EPS estimates by an average of 3.3%, but the average post-earnings day price reaction was -1.7%.
This compares to the S&P 500’s average EPS upside surprise of 6.9% and post-earnings day price reaction of 0.1%, according to Bloomberg, he said.
Updated at 12:37 PM EST
Gone Gaetz
Matt Gaetz, the controversial former Florida Congressman who was nominated to serve as Attorney General, withdrew his name from consideration Thursday in a blow to the cabinet construction plans of by President-elect Donald Trump.
Gaetz, who was facing a House Ethics Committee hearing tied to allegations of improper sexual conduct, resigned his seat upon Trump's nomination, but was facing a likely damaging battle for Senate confirmation.
I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback - and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance…
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) November 21, 2024
Updated at 11:00 AM EST
More red
Nvidia's intraday swings are dragging both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq lower in late-morning trading, while the Dow and the mid-cap Russell 2000 are extending their earlier gains as Treasury yields hold steady following an overnight paring of risk appetite.
The S&P 500 was last marked 5 points, or 0.08% lower on the session, with the Nasdaq down 0.8%, as Nvidia gave back opening bell gains to trade 1.75% lower from last night's close.
Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) , meanwhile, is having its second-worst day of the year, falling 6.3% TO $166.21 each, following a Department of Justice move to have the tech giant sell its Chrome browser and share data with its search engine rivals.
$GOOGL 2nd-worst day in the last year.. -6% pic.twitter.com/iJP6jpUe6q
— Mike Zaccardi, CFA, CMT 🍖 (@MikeZaccardi) November 21, 2024
Updated at 9:51 AM EST
Mixed open
The S&P 500 was marked 8 points, or 0.13% higher in the opening minutes of trading, with the Nasdaq slipping 8 points, or 0.05%.
The Dow was marked 134 points higher while the mid-cap Russell 2000 gained 12 points, or 0.5%.
S&P 500 Opening Bell Heatmap (Nov. 21, 2024)$SPY +0.49%🟩$QQQ +0.71%🟩$DJI +0.28%🟩$IWM +0.51%🟩 pic.twitter.com/HytOocBiCC
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) November 21, 2024
Updated at 8:33 AM EST
Mixed job
Around 213,000 Americans filed for first time jobless benefits last week, the Labor Department reported, a 6,000 decline from the prior period that came in just under Wall Street forecasts and the lowest tally since late April.
Continued claims, however, rose to 1.908 million, the highest since November of 2021, suggesting those out of work are finding it tougher to secure a new position as hiring slows into the end of the year.
Treasury yields edged higher following the data release, with 10-year notes rising to 4.414% and 2-year paper pegged at 4.321%
Initial Jobless Claims: the pace of firings remains stable at 213K down from 219K during the week of November 16. Continuing claims at 1.908 million which is up from 1.872 million previously. Fears of rising unemployment continue to not pan out and a look at the mention of job… pic.twitter.com/4w7ndKFk4l
— Joseph Brusuelas (@joebrusuelas) November 21, 2024
Updated at 7:38 AM EST
Nvidia seeing green
Stocks reversed their earlier premarket declines heading into the opening bell, with the S&P 500 now called 16 points higher and the Nasdaq priced for a 30 point bump.
Nvidia shares, meanwhile, have pared their overnight slump amid a host of price target changes from analysts on Wall Street that look through the group's near-term revenue outlook and focus on what CFO Colette Kress called "staggering" demand for its new Blackwell chips.
Related: Goldman Sachs analyst leads Nvidia price target overhauls after earnings
Stock Market Today
Stocks ended little changed on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 scraping out a modest gain and the tech-focused Nasdaq slipping 0.11%. Markets awaited the fiscal-third-quarter update from Nvidia and digested some hawkish comments on interest rates that clipped bets on a December Federal Reserve interest rate hike.
Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin echoed that concern in an interview with Britain's Financial Times, telling the paper that the U.S. was "somewhat more vulnerable to cost shocks on the inflation side, whether they be wages or otherwise, than we might have been five years ago."
CME Group's FedWatch now pegs the odds of a December rate cut at around 59%, with just two more reductions priced in over the second half of next year.
Getty
Treasury yields, however, were lower in overnight trading as investors retreated to safe-haven assets amid reports from Ukraine that Russia has used an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time in the two-year conflict.
Benchmark 10-year notes were last marked 3 basis points lower at 4.388% while 2-year paper eased to 4.293%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was marked 0.02% higher at 106.701.
On Wall Street, Nvidia's (NVDA) near-term outlook, which included the slowest pace of revenue growth in seven quarters, clouded an otherwise impressive earnings report, which included a 94% year-on-year surge in sales and net income of $19.3 billion.
"I think what matters [for Nvidia shares] is this: 'What's demand going to look like in 2026?'" said Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster. "This is a boom-or-bust business and they're telling us they see incredible demand for Blackwell, and higher levels of interest than they saw just three months ago."
Related: Nvidia stock slides as outlook clouds massive Q3 earnings surge
Shares in the group, which comprise around 7.5% of the S&P 500 and 9% of the Nasdaq, were marked 2.95% lower in premarket trading at $141.58 each.
That slide is weighing on the broader indexes, with futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggesting a 17 point opening bell decline and those linked to the Nasdaq priced for a 76 point pullback.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, is called 65 points lower.
Other stocks on the move include Snowflake (SNOW) , which is up more than 21% in premarket trading to $156.60. The data-analytics group boosted its full-year profit forecast and unveiled a new cloud partnership with AI-focused Anthropic.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW) , meanwhile, fell 4.7% after the cybersecurity group issued a muted outlook for its fiscal second quarter and declared a 2-for-1 stock split.
More Wall Street Analysts:
- Walmart analysts reset stock price targets ahead of Black Friday
- Analysts revamp Cisco stock price targets after earnings
- Analysts revisit Applied Materials stock price targets after Q4 earnings
In overseas markets, Europe's Stoxx 600 was marked 0.4% lower in midday Frankfurt trading, while Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.15% higher in London thanks in part to solid gains for energy and resource stocks.
Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 ended 0.8% lower in Tokyo while the regionwide MSCI ex-Japan benchmark slipped 0.56% into the close of trading.
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
