S&P 500 Hits All-Time High!
Investors were optimistic about Nvidia Corp.’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) earnings, hoping it would boost market momentum, and the company delivered with an impressive beat-and-raise quarter. This news had a positive impact on major index futures, signaling a strong start to the day. Analysts have been urging investors to take advantage of the recent market dip as a buying opportunity, creating anticipation for increased buying activity.
However, there are several factors that market participants are keeping an eye on today, including scheduled Federal Reserve speeches, weekly jobless claims data, and private-sector activity readings.
Cues From Wednesday’s Trading:
Wednesday’s market session ended on a mixed note as investors analyzed the hawkish Fed minutes, disappointing tech earnings, and awaited Nvidia’s report. The minutes from the January Federal Open Market Committee meeting revealed the central bank’s cautious approach to rate cuts, preferring to wait for clearer signs of sustainable inflation trends.
The day started with major indexes opening lower and maintaining a sideways trajectory before deepening losses after the release of the Fed minutes. A late-session surge helped push the S&P 500 and Dow Industrials into positive territory, while the Nasdaq Composite, although ending lower, saw improvement from earlier lows and settled at its highest level since early February.
Energy and utility sectors led gains among the 11 S&P 500 sector classes, while IT stocks experienced declines.
Index Performance:
– Nasdaq Composite: -0.32%, 15,580.87
– S&P 500 Index: +0.13%, 4,981.80
– Dow Industrials: +0.13%, 38,612.24
– Russell 2000: -1.41%, 2,004.14
According to Morgan Stanley’s Lisa Shalett, labor market indicators such as job creation, wages, and layoffs are crucial for determining the sustainability of the market rally. She highlighted that the strength of the current economic environment will play a significant role in positively impacting company earnings.
Futures Today:
In premarket trading on Thursday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) rose 1.33% to $503.80, and the Invesco QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) climbed 2.14% to $434.73.
Upcoming Economic Data:
The Labor Department is set to release its weekly jobless claims report at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect the number of individuals claiming unemployment benefits to rise to 217,000 in the week ended Feb. 17, up from 212,000 in the previous week.
S&P Global will release its flash US manufacturing and service sector readings at 9:45 a.m. ET. The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index is expected to dip slightly from 50.7 in January to 50.5 in February, while the service sector PMI may have edged down from 52.5 to 52.4. Both sectors are expected to remain just above the ’50’ mark, indicating expansion.
The National Association of Realtors will release its existing home sales report for January at 10 a.m. ET. Economists expect existing home sales to reach a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 3.96 million units, slightly higher than the previous quarter’s 3.78 million units.
Fed officials making public appearances on Thursday include Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson (10 a.m. ET), Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker (3:15 a.m. ET), Fed Governor Lisa Cook (5 p.m. ET), Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari (5 p.m. ET), and Fed Gov. Christopher Waller (7:35 p.m. ET).
In addition, the Energy Information Administration will release its weekly petroleum status report at 11 a.m. ET, and the Treasury will auction four- and eight-week bills at 11:30 a.m. ET, as well as 30-year TIPS at 1 p.m. ET.
Stocks In Focus:
Nvidia saw a premarket boost of over 14% following its strong quarterly performance. Other stocks moving on earnings include Five9, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVN) (down over 6.60%), Lucid Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID) (down over 8.5%), Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) (down over 14%), Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NYSE:NOVA) (down over 4%), and Sunrun Inc. (NYSE:RUN) (down about 3%).
Some notable companies reporting their quarterly results before the market open include Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS), Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG), Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D), Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (NASDAQ:KDP), Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA), Newmont Corp. (NYSE:NEM), PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD), and Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W). After-market reports will include Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA), Insulet Corporation (NASDAQ:PODD), Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV), MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI), and Noble Corp Plc. (NYSE:NE).
Commodities, Bonds, Other Global Equity Markets:
Crude oil futures fell 0.06% to $77.86 in early European session trading on Thursday, following a 0.35% decline on Wednesday. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note slipped 0.018 percentage points to 4.305%, with yields rising after the hawkish FOMC minutes.
Asian stocks closed higher on Thursday, buoyed by the strong earnings from Nvidia. European markets also traded notably higher by late-morning trading.
The U.S. dollar is weaker against most major currencies in the foreign exchange market.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. All rights reserved.
