U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday, with tech-related momentum stocks leading the charge, as fresh economic data rekindled hopes that inflation remains in a cooling trend.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.43 points, or 0.01%, to 38,459.08, the S&P 500 gained 38.42 points, or 0.74%, to 5,199.06 and the Nasdaq Composite added 271.84 points, or 1.68%, to 16,442.20.
Market Movers
Apple (AAPL), Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Tesla (TSLA), Microsoft (MSFT), Meta (META) - The Magnificent Seven Group of megacap stocks shined. Apple stock rose 4.3%; Nvidia rose 4.1%; Alphabet rose 2.1%; Amazon.com gained 1.7%; Tesla rose 1.7%; Microsoft rose 1.1%; while Meta Platforms was up 0.6%. Amazon.com marked its first record close since July 8, 2021. Alphabet also closed at a record and on the verge of a $2 trillion market cap.
Rivian (RIVN) - Rivian Automotive fell 6.8% to $9.57, marking a record closing low, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The decline in Rivian shares came as Ford cut pricing for its all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup trucks by $5,500, according to CarsDirect, which cited a memo sent to Ford dealerships. Ford fell 0.2%.
Alpine Immune Sciences (ALPN) - Alpine Immune Sciences soared 36.9% to $64.40 after agreeing to be acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals for $4.9 billion in cash. Vertex will be paying $65 a share for Alpine Immune, an immunological-focused biotechnology company. Alpine Immune’s lead candidate, povetacicept, is a potential treatment for IgA nephropathy, a kidney condition. Vertex shares rose 0.7%.
Nike (NKE) - Nike rose 3.4% to $92 after BofA Securities upgraded shares of the sports apparel company to Buy from Neutral and boosted the stock’s price target to $113 from $110.
CarMax (KMX) - CarMax fell 9.2% after reporting fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 32 cents share, below analysts’ estimates of 46 cents. Sales in the quarter were a worse-than-expected $5.6 billion. The used-car retailer also pushed out its time frame goal to sell more than two million units annually.
Fastenal (FAST) - Fastenal reported first-quarter earnings of 52 cents a share, missing estimates by 1 cent, and the stock was down 6.5%. “We had poor weather and a tricky calendar. Good Friday was in March for the first time in five years and fell on the last day of the month,” said CEO Dan Florness, adding that “the core issue remains poor demand.”
Constellation Brands (STZ) - Constellation Brands rose 1.3% after the alcohol giant reported fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.26 a share, beating estimates of $2.11. Beer sales rose 11% in the period but wine and spirits sales fell 6%.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has been accused by the Justice Department of fraudulent practices related to the pricing of Eylea, the company’s vision-impairment drug. “The complaint alleges that Regeneron fraudulently inflated Medicare reimbursement rates for Eylea by knowingly submitting false average sales price reports to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that excluded certain price concessions,” the DOJ said in a statement. Regeneron said the allegations were “without merit,” and plans to “vigorously defend itself in court.” Regeneron fell 1.7%.
Atlassian (TEAM) - Atlassian was up 4.8% to $214.65. Shares of the software company were upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
Market News
Tame US producer price data soothes inflation concerns
The producer price index for final demand rose 0.2% last month after increasing by an unrevised 0.6% in February, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI would gain 0.3%.
In the 12 months through March, the PPI advanced 2.1% after rising 1.6% in February.
U.S. producer prices increased moderately in March as a rise in the cost of services was softened by a fall in goods prices, calming fears of a resurgence in inflation.
The report from the Labor Department on Thursday led economists to anticipate milder increases in the inflation measures tracked by the Federal Reserve for monetary policy relative to the strong consumer price readings in March.
Apple Plans to Overhaul Entire Mac Line With AI-Focused M4 Chips
Apple Inc., aiming to boost sluggish computer sales, is preparing to overhaul its entire Mac line with a new family of in-house processors designed to highlight artificial intelligence.
The company, which released its first Macs with M3 chips five months ago, is already nearing production of the next generation — the M4 processor — according to people with knowledge of the matter. The new chip will come in at least three main varieties, and Apple is looking to update every Mac model with it, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been announced.
The new Macs are underway at a critical time. After peaking in 2022, Mac sales fell 27% in the last fiscal year, which ended in September. In the holiday period, revenue from the computer line was flat. Apple attempted to breathe new life into the Mac business with an M3-focused launch event last October, but those chips didn’t bring major performance improvements over the M2 from the prior year.