U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday, with UnitedHealth down sharply and technology shares easing as investors awaited Friday's jobs report.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 248.33 points, or 0.55%, to 44,765.71, the S&P 500 lost 11.38 points, or 0.19%, to 6,075.11 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 34.86 points, or 0.18%, to 19,700.26.
Market Movers
Tesla - Tesla finished up 3.2% to $369.49. The electric vehicle maker unveiled further details about its purpose-built robotaxi, theCybercab, which will become available for purchase in 2026. Tesla plans to launch a self-driving robotaxi service next year using existing models running Tesla’s highest-level driver assistance software.
MicroStrategy - MicroStrategy fell 4.8% after trading higher earlier in the session and Coinbase Global fell 3.1% even though Bitcoin surpassed $100,000 for the first time. A recent jump in Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, and the crypto-linked stocks has been sharp since Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election on Nov. 5, with investors expecting a more crypto-friendly administration. Bitcoin rose to as high as $103,900.47 after Trump nominatedPaul Atkinsto lead the Securities and Exchange Commission. Atkins holds a position within a crypto lobbying group and previously criticized regulatory action taken by the agency.
American Airlines, Southwest Airlines - American Airlines surged 16.8% after the carrier said itexpects fourth-quarter adjusted earningsof between 55 cents and 75 cents a share, higher than previous guidance of between 25 cents and 50 cents. The updated guidance was higher than Wall Street consensus of 39 cents. American cited improved pricing and revenue environment since its previous guidance was issued in October. The company also extended its card partnership with Citi. Southwest Airlines also boosted guidance and the stock rose 2%.
Uber - Uber plummeted 9.6% to $65.23 after Waymo announced that it was expanding service to Miami. The driverless ride-hailing platform grew out of Google’s X research lab in 2009 and has expanded to complete more than 150,000 paid driverless-taxi rides each week in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix. The company plans to unleash its all-electric Jaguar I-PACEs on the Florida city’s streets in early 2025.
Synopsys - Synopsys fell 12.4% after the semiconductor design software provider issuedfiscal first-quarter guidancethat missed analysts’ estimates. Synopsys said it expects adjusted earnings of between $2.77 and $2.82 a share—below analysts’ estimates of $3.52—on revenue of $1.44 billion to $1.47 billion, which came in under estimates of $1.64 billion.
SentinelOne - Cybersecurity company SentinelOne tumbled 13.2% after posting a third-quarter loss that was wider than a year earlier because of higher operating expenses. On an adjusted basis, the company reported break-even earnings in the quarter, below analysts’ estimates of 1 cent.Revenue rose 28% in the periodto $210.6 million. SentinelOne said it expects fourth-quarter revenue of $222 million and fiscal 2025 revenue of $818 million. Analysts estimate fourth-quarter revenue of $220.6 million and fiscal-year revenue of $815.6 million.
AeroVironment - AeroVironment reported fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings that missed analysts’ estimates and issued weaker-than-expected fiscal-year guidance. AeroVironment posted adjusted profit in its second quarter of 47 cents a share, below expectations of 76 cents. Shares of the drone and missile maker sank 15.9%.
American Eagle Outfitters - American Eagle Outfitters posted third-quarter revenue that missed analysts’ estimates and issued aweak revenue forecast for the holiday season fourth quarter. The company said it expects fourth-quarter revenue to fall 4% while it sees comparable-store sales up 1%. Analysts had been expecting revenue in the period to decline 1%. Shares of the retailer dropped 14.3%.
Signet Jewelers - Signet Jewelers fell 11.9% afterthird-quarter adjusted earnings and salesmissed Wall Street forecasts and the parent of Zales and Blue Nile said it expects fourth-quarter sales of $2.38 billion to $2.46 billion versus estimates of about $2.45 billion.
Brown-Forman - Brown-Forman rose 10.7% after the maker of Jack Daniel’s whiskey postedsecond-quarter earningsand revenue that beat Wall Street expectations. Core whiskey sales were down 1%.
Verint - Verint Systems, which provides software tools for customer engagement, rose 23.1% after third-quarter adjusted earnings of 54 cents a share on revenue of $224.2 million topped Wall Street estimates for profit of 43 cents a share on revenue of $210.1 million.
Five Below - Five Below boosted its fiscal-year sales forecast following “solid Black Friday weekend results,” the company said. The discount retailer, which also named Winnie Park, Forever 21’s CEO, as its chief executive, said it expects fiscal-year sales of $3.84 billion to $3.87 billion, higher than previous guidance of $3.73 billion to $3.8 billion. Shares rose 10.5%.
Applied Materials - Applied Materials was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, and the price target on shares of the chip-equipment maker was cut to $164 from $179. The stock fell 5% to $172.03.
Market News
US Weekly Jobless Claims Edge up; Falling Imports Compress Trade Deficit
The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, pointing to steadily easing labor market conditions heading into the final stretch of 2024.
Sluggish hiring, however, means some people who lose their jobs are collecting unemployment checks for longer periods relative to early this year, potentially keeping the jobless rate above 4.0%. Economists said this should allow the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again this month despite stalled progress in lowering inflation to the U.S. central bank's 2% target.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 224,000 for the week ended Nov. 30, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 215,000 claims for the latest week.
Cryptic Post from “Roaring Kitty“ Rekindles Retail Hype
GameStop's shares jumped on Thursday after a cryptic post from meme stock influencer Keith Gill, who shot to notoriety after his online personas and bullish bets on the video game retailer sparked a trading frenzy among mom-and-pop investors.
Gill posted a picture resembling a Time magazine cover from 2006 with a computer screen on social media platform X. Following his post, GameStop's shares spiked and traded as high as $30.87. The stock closed up 6%.
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