The S&P 500 scored a record closing high and the Dow and Nasdaq rose on Thursday, as Micron Technology shares rallied and a strong U.S. jobless claims report eased labor market concerns.
Market Snapshot
The benchmark S&P 500 closed up 23.11 points, or 0.40%, at 5,745.37, after rising to a record intraday high of 5,767.37.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 260.36 points, or 0.62%, to 42,175.11. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 108.09 points, or 0.60%, to 18,190.29. YINN rose 23.6%, Alibaba rose 10%, JD.com rose 14.4%, PDD Holding rose 13.6%.
Market Movers
Micron Technology rose 15% after the memory-chip maker reported fiscal-fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.18 a share, beating analysts' estimates for $1.11, as revenue surged 93% from a year earlier to $7.75 billion on "robust AI demand." Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said artificial-intelligence demand "drove a strong ramp of our data-center DRAM products and our industry-leading high-bandwidth memory." Micron said it expects first-quarter revenue of $8.7 billion at the midpoint of its guidance, higher than estimates for $8.3 billion and well more than $4.73 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Shares of other chip makers traded mixed after Micron's report. Advanced Micro Devices gained 3.4%, Applied Materials rose 6.2%, NVIDIA Corp was up 0.4%, ASML Holding NV jumped 4.2%, Lam Research gained 5.4%, and Western Digital surged 6.8%.
SUPER MICRO COMPUTER INC fell 12% after The Wall Street Journal reported the server maker was being probed by the Justice Department following a critical report by short-seller Hindenburg Research. The report cited people familiar with the matter.
Starbucks was up 1.9% after analysts at Bernstein raised their recommendation on shares of the cafe chain to Outperform from Market Perform.
Southwest Airlines issued expectations for its fiscal third quarter as the carrier kicks off its investor day, saying it anticipates revenue per available seat mile up 2% to 3% year over year. Southwest also said it appointed Robert Fornaro -- who previously served as the CEO of Spirit Airlines -- to its board, effective immediately. Southwest has been pressured by activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which has pushed for changes at the top, including the ouster of CEO Bob Jordan. The stock was up 5.4%.
Costco fell 0.6% ahead of its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings scheduled for after the closing bell Thursday. Wall Street expects revenue to rise about 1% from a year earlier to $79.9 billion, and same-store sales to grow 5.6%.
Accenture PLC rose 5.6% after the IT consulting company's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings beat analysts' estimates, and a raised quarterly dividend. Accenture's board also approved an additional $4 billion for stock buybacks.
CarMax was up 5.1% after falling in the premarket session. Fiscal-second-quarter sales at the used-car retailer topped Wall Street estimates but auto finance income declined 14.4% amid an increase in a provision for loan losses.
Market News
Fed's Cook Says She 'Wholeheartedly' Supported Half-Point Rate Cut
Fed Governor Lisa Cook on Thursday endorsed the U.S. central bank's 50-basis-point interest-rate cut last week as a way to address increased "downside risks" to employment.
"I whole heartedly supported the decision," Cook said in remarks prepared for delivery to The Ohio State University. "That decision reflected growing confidence that, with an appropriate recalibration of our policy stance, the solid labor market can be maintained in a context of moderate economic growth and inflation continuing to move sustainably down to our target."
Trump Media Co-Founders Moved Quickly to Cash In Their Stake
The former contestants on Donald Trump’s TV show The Apprentice who co-founded his media startup wasted no time offloading millions of shares in the company after restrictions that prevented selling were lifted.
Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss’s United Atlantic Ventures sold more than 7.5 million Trump Trump Media & Technology shares within a week after a lock-up agreement expired last week, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday. The stake would have been worth at least $88 million, based on the lowest price where shares have traded during regular hours since the restrictions were lifted.
Cassava Sciences Shares Fall After SEC Charges for Misleading Alzheimer's Drug Trial Claims
Shares of Cassava Sciences Inc fell 12% in post-market trading on Thursday after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged the biopharmaceutical company and two former executives for misleading claims about the results of Alzheimer's clinical trials.
The misleading statements were made in September 2020 about the results of a phase two clinical trial for Cassava's purported drug treatment for Alzheimer's, the SEC said.
Super Micro Tumbles After Justice Department Starts Probe: Report
SUPER MICRO COMPUTER INC is being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department after a report by an activist short-selling firm, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The San Jose, Calif.-based server maker's stock fell about 12% on Thursday.
