The S&P 500 posted a closing record high on Thursday as labor market data did not change expectations for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, a day ahead of the key U.S. monthly jobs report.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 350.06 points, or 0.77%, to 45,621.29, the S&P 500 rose 53.82 points, or 0.83%, to 6,502.08 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 209.97 points, or 0.98%, to 21,707.69.
Market Movers
Amazon stock popped 4.3% on Thursday to 235.68. Shares of other consumer discretionary companies also rose sharply, with the sector gaining 2.3% on the day. Netflix up 2.6%; Meta Platforms up 1.6%. JetBlue Airways said it will partner with Amazon subsidiary Project Kuiper, a low Earth orbit satellite broadband internet network, to improve its onboard Wi-Fi.
Figma slid 20%. The design-software company posted second-quarter earnings for the first time since going public on July 31 and missed analysts' estimates. Revenue in the period rose 41% from a year earlier to $249.6 million, slightly below the $250 million Wall Street had anticipated. The company earned $846,000, or breakeven on a per-share basis, below calls for a profit of 9 cents a share.
Salesforce fell 4.9%. While second-quarter earnings and revenue at the cloud software company topped analysts' forecasts, its outlook for the third quarter disappointed, especially for revenue and backlog growth. Salesforce said it expects third-quarter revenue of $10.24 billion to $10.29 billion versus the consensus estimate of $10.29 billion.
Fiscal third-quarter earnings at Hewlett Packard Enterprise were better than expected, sending shares up 1.5%. Network revenue jumped 54%, getting a lift from HPE's acquisition of Juniper Networks in July. HPE raised its fiscal-year forecast for revenue growth to 14% to 16%, up from a range of 7% to 9%. The server and cloud-software company sees adjusted earnings of $1.88 to $1.92 a share, higher than previous calls for $1.78 to $1.90 a share. "We are raising guidance because we are consolidating the Juniper results into our numbers," said CEO Antonio Neri.
Alphabet rose 0.7% to build on yesterday's closing high. The was the best performer in the S&P 500 on Wednesday after a judge in the U.S. vs. Google antitrust case ruled the search company wouldn't have to sell its Chrome web browser.
Shares of Apple were up 0.6%. The stock gained 3.8% on Wednesday after U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said Alphabet's Google wouldn't be barred from paying Apple to make Google the default search provider on its devices. On Thursday, MoffettNathanson analysts upgraded shares of the tech giant to Neutral from Sell, arguing Apple wasn't especially attractive from a valuation perspective despite the positive outcome in the antitrust case.
Credo Technology rose 7.4%. The company reported fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings of 52 cents a share, beating analysts' calls for 36 cents, as revenue rose 274% from a year earlier to $223.1 million and topped expectations. Credo, a leader in AI data-center connectivity, forecast a second-quarter revenue range that also topped estimates at the midpoint.
American Eagle Outfitters soared 38% after the apparel retailer reinstated guidance for the fiscal year that was better than analysts' expectations. The company had withdrawn guidance for the fiscal year in May, citing macroeconomic uncertainty. The new guidance projects fiscal-year adjusted operating income in the range of $255 million to $265 million on an adjusted basis, above Wall Street projections of $176 million. American Eagle said the fall season was off to a positive start, fueled in part by an ad campaign with actress Sydney Sweeney and a separate partnership with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
C3.ai, the enterprise-AI software company, fell 7.3% after guiding for second-quarter revenue between $72 million and $80 million, below analysts' calls for $99.5 million. C3.ai announced that Stephen Ehikian, who served most recently as President Donald Trump's appointee as acting administrator of the General Services Administration, had been appointed CEO, succeeding founder Thomas Siebel, who will continue as executive chairman.
Ciena jumped 23% after posting fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations. The networking-equipment company also issued an optimistic fourth-quarter outlook and said it would be laying off 4% to 5% of its workforce.
GitLab, a provider of software development tools, tumbled 7.4% after second-quarter revenue missed analysts' estimates and the company issued disappointing third-quarter earnings and revenue guidance. GitLab also said Chief Financial Officer Brian Robins was leaving the company for the same role at Snowflake.
Market News
Trump Says "Fairly Substantial" Chips Tariffs Coming Shortly
President Donald Trump said he would be imposing tariffs on semiconductor imports “very shortly” but spare goods from companies like Apple Inc. that have pledged to boost their US investments.
“Tim Cook would be in pretty good shape,” Trump said Thursday of the Apple chief executive officer when it comes to the exposure his company might face from import levies, noting its recent investment commitments.
The president addressed reporters during a dinner at the White House with a rare gathering of top executives and founders from some of the world’s biggest technology companies, including Cook.
Trump Signs Order Sealing Japan Tariff Deal With 15% Rate
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday implementing his trade agreement with Japan, with a maximum 15% tariff on most of its products, including automobiles and parts.
The deal, which also includes a promise that Japan will create a $550 billion US investment fund, was reached in July, but had yet to be formalized as Washington and Tokyo haggled over its terms. Japan’s top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, who was in Washington this week for talks, met with Trump on Thursday, according to a US official.
