U.S. stocks ended sharply up on Thursday, with the S&P 500 approaching record highs as AI optimism drove gains in Nvidia and other chipmakers.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.88% to end the session at 4,780.94 points. The benchmark is down just 0.3% from its record-high close in January 2022.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.54 percent to 37,468.61, while the broad-based S&P 500 ended 0.88 percent higher at 4,780.94. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index also climbed 1.35 percent to 15,055.65.
Market Movers
U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) soared nearly 10% after the world's largest contract semiconductor maker projected 2024 revenue growth of more than 20% on booming demand for high-end chips used in artificial-intelligence applications.
Apple jumped 3.3% after BofA Global Research upgraded the iPhone maker's stock to "buy" from "neutral." That helped the S&P 500 information technology index rise 2% and hit a record high.
Humana fell 8% after the health insurer reduced its fiscal 2023 adjusted earnings outlook to $26.09 a share because of higher medical costs. It expects GAAP earnings for the year of $20 a share. UnitedHealth stock declined 1.6% and CVS Health slumped 4%.
Discover Financial Services dropped 11% after reporting that its charge-off rate—the percentage of outstanding debt that credit-card issuers write off as a loss—rose to 4.1% in the fourth quarter, up from 2.1% a year earlier. Discover also said its provision for credit losses at the end of the quarter was $1.9 billion, up $1 billion from a year earlier, driven by the increase in net charge-offs and a higher reserve build. Fourth-quarter earnings at Discover also missed analysts’ estimates.
Spirit Airlines declined 7.2%, to $5.70, after The Wall Street Journal reported that Spirit was planning to explore restructuring options with advisors following a blocked merger with JetBlue Airways as it faces near-term debt maturities. Citi analysts downgraded the stock to Sell after a federal judge blocked the budget carrier’s proposed merger with JetBlue, siding with the Justice Department on antitrust grounds. Spirit dropped 47% on Tuesday and 22% on Wednesday.
Alcoa reported a narrower-than-expected adjusted loss in the fourth quarter and a revenue decline of 2.5% to $2.6 billion, which just edged estimates. The aluminum-products maker said it expects lower production in 2024. The stock fell 1.6%.
Plug Power fell 12%, to $2.42, after disclosing in a filing that it will be selling up to $1 billion of shares. The clean-energy company said it entered into an at-the-market issuance sales agreement with B. Riley Securities that allows it to sell up to $1 billion in common stock.
Hertz was up 7.5%, to $8.99, after analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of the car-rental company to Overweight from Equal Weight. The price target was reduced to $15 from $16. The company last week said it would sell about 20,000 electric vehicles in the U.S.
Fastenal was up 7.2% after fourth-quarter earnings at the distributor of industrial and construction supplies topped analysts’ estimates.
Birkenstock fell 7.7% after the German sandal-maker said it expected a “modest headwind” to fiscal 2024 margins in adjusted Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, “due to planned ramp-up costs and an initial under-absorption” in Pasewalk, Germany, where a new production plant will be located.
Boeing rose 4.2%. India’s newest airline, Akasa Air, has ordered 150 Boeing 737 MAX planes. Akasa will be purchasing 737-10 airplanes and 737-8-200 jets. The order doesn’t include the 737 MAX 9, which has been grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration following an incident on an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this month.
Market News
Spot bitcoin ETFs draw nearly $2 billion in first three days of trading
A new batch of U.S. bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has attracted strong investor interest, though it is unclear if they will be able to maintain the pace of inflows in coming weeks.
Investors have poured $1.9 billion into nine new exchange-traded funds tracking the spot price of bitcoin in their first three days of trading, data from issuers and analysts showed, with fund giants BlackRock (BLK.N) and Fidelity pulling in the lion’s share of the flows.
OpenAI, Arizona State University partner to expand AI in academia
Microsoft-backed OpenAI has signed a deal with Arizona State University as the ChatGPT owner looks to expand its partnerships beyond technology and media firms.
The university said on Thursday it will get access to ChatGPT Enterprise, a version of the viral chatbot that offers more security, privacy and higher-speed access to OpenAI's technology.
The development contrasts the initial alarm in academic circles, when OpenAI's launch of ChatGPT triggered fears that the technology's sophisticated, human-like responses could be misused.