The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed lower on Thursday, as market bellwether Nvidia retreated from earlier gains, while investors evaluated recent economic data and commentary from Federal Reserve officials to determine the timing of interest-rate cuts this year.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 299.90 points, or 0.77%, to 39,134.76, the S&P 500 lost 13.86 points, or 0.25%, to 5,473.17 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 140.64 points, or 0.79%, to 17,721.59.
Market Movers
Nvidia fell 3.5% after it relinquished its recently obtained title as the world’s most valuable company back to Microsoft. Nvidia’s valuation still topped the market value of Apple. Microsoft was down 0.2% on Thursday and Apple declined 2.2%.
Dell Technologies fell 0.4% and Super Micro Computer was down 0.3%. Both stocks couldn’t hold onto initial gains after Elon Musk acknowledged the companies as providers of server infrastructure for Musk’s xAI start-up.
Advanced Micro Devices gained 4.6% to $161.78 after Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar named the chip maker a “top pick in the large cap space.” The analyst said the firm feels “there are additional tailwinds set to come for both the server and PC businesses. These tailwinds coupled with embedded hitting bottom in the June quarter; we view AMD as having bright prospects moving into the back half of the year.”
Trump Media & Technology Group declined 15%, extending sharp losses from Tuesday, after the company, the parent of former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, said the Securities and Exchange Commission had signed off on its registration statement and on the resale of shares and warrants. The selling shareholders can publicly resell the securities and the warrants are eligible to be exercised for cash, putting further pressure on the stock, however.
Shares of Gilead Sciences were up 8.5%. The biopharmaceutical company said a Phase 3 trial of its twice-yearly HIV prevention treatment was found to be 100% effective.
Accenture reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of $3.13 a share, 3 cents below analysts’ estimates. The professional services company said that so far this year generative AI new bookings have totaled $2 billion. Shares rose 7.3%.
KB Home’s second-quarter earnings beat analysts’ estimates and home orders in the period rose 2% to 3,997. The home builder estimates fiscal-year housing revenue of $6.7 billion to $6.9 billion, with an average selling price of $485,000 to $495,000. Its prior outlook called for housing revenue in the range of $6.5 billion to $6.9 billion. The stock rose 2.9%.
Kroger reported better-than-expected first-quarter adjusted earnings and backed its fiscal-year guidance. The stock fell 3.3%, however, after Kroger warned of continuing pressures in its pharmacy segment in the second quarter.
Jabil fell 11% after the electronics-manufacturing services company reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that were down from a year earlier, and on its conference call mentioned “softness” in several markets.
Darden Restaurants earned $2.65 a share from continuing operations in its fiscal fourth quarter, higher than analysts’ forecasts of $2.61. The owner of Olive Garden and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse restaurants said it expects fiscal 2025 total sales of $11.8 billion to $11.9 billion compared with expectations of $11.94 billion. The stock was up 1.5%.
Market News
Nvidia Loses Top Spot to Microsoft After 3.5% Drop
Nvidia's shares declined nearly 3.5% on Thursday, handing the title of the world's most valuable company back to Microsoft.
Nvidia’s market value dropped to $3.216 trillion, at the current level of $130.78.
Microsoft's market value also slipped, to $3.312 trillion, as its shares were down 0.2% at $445.7.
Anthropic Releases “Most Intelligent” AI Model in Rivalry With OpenAI
Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic is releasing a new AI model that it calls its fastest and most capable yet in a rivalry with OpenAI.
Anthropic introduced Claude 3.5 Sonnet, an updated version of its Claude 3 model that it just released in March. The company said Thursday that the new model — the technology that underpins its popular chatbot Claude — is twice as fast as its most powerful previous version. Anthropic said in its evaluations, the model outperforms leading competitors like OpenAI on several key intelligence capabilities, such as coding and text-based reasoning.
Nikola Plans 1-for-30 Reverse Stock Split to Comply with Nasdaq Listing Rules
Nikola on Thursday announced a 1-for-30 reverse stock split to comply with Nasdaq listing rules.
The stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis starting June 25, the company said.
Nikola's shares fell more than 31% on Thursday.
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