4:10pm: Stocks end day in positive territory
The S&P 500 inched slightly closer to 5,000 points at Thursday’s close, adding 0.1% at 4,997.91 points.
The Nasdaq added 0.2% at 15,793 points and the Dow Jones was up 0.1% at 38,726 points.
After upbeat earnings reports, Arm Holdings added an impressive 47.9% at $113.89 while Disney added 11.5% at $110.53.
12:00pm: Stocks mixed but Disney and Arm fly
Stocks in New York were mixed after strong gains on Wednesday with the S&P 500 failing to breach the 5,000 mark for now.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3% at 38,562.21, the S&P 500 was down 0.1% at 4,990.59 while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.3% at 15,798.09.
Traders reported some caution ahead of a $25 billion sale of 30-year Treasuries, that will test Wall Street’s appetite for longer-term bonds after solid debt sales so far this week.
Stocks on the move include Disney, up 12%, after its strong results, $3 billion and dividend hike whle Arm leapt 55% after third quarter sales beat forecasts as did fourth quarter guidance.
But shares of Band-Aid maker Kenvue fell 4.9% after the consumer health company, spun off from Johnson and Johnson last year, missed revenue and profit expectations in its fourth quarter on soft demand for its products and a weak sales outlook.
9:40am: Mixed start in New York after strong robust data
Stocks in New York made a mixed start to trading after robust jobs data further dented hopes of a near-term cut in interest rates.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1% at 38,715.35, the S&P 500 was down slightly at 4,993.07 while the Nasdaq Composite was also flat at 15,758.77.
US initial jobless claims fell by more than expected in the most recent week, numbers on Thursday showed.
According to the US Department of Labor, new jobless claims came in at 218,000 in the week ending February 3, down from 227,000 a week earlier. The previous week's level was revised up by 3,000 from 224,000.
The reading was lower than FXStreet consensus of 220,000. The four-week moving average was 212,250, an increase of 3,750 from the previous week's revised average.
7:00am: All eyes on S&P as 5,000 landmark looms
Stocks are expected to open slightly lower on Thursday as traders speculate as to whether the S&P 500 can break the 5,000 landmark.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.1%, while those for the S&P 500 eased 0.2% and contracts for the Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.2%.
On Wednesday, the S&P hit a new intra-day high, just failing to hit 5,000 as technology stocks such as Meta, Nvidia and Microsoft pushed higher once more.
Investors will have another slew of earnings to unpick with Philip Morris, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP, ETR:YCP), Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO), Kenvue, Hershey, T Rowe Price, Spirit Airlines and Ralph Lauren among those rporting before the opening bell.
Pinterest, Illumina and Expedia will post their results after the market closes.
Before the open, new applications for US state unemployment aid, a proxy for lay-offs, are expected to have ticked down to 220,000 last week from 224,000 in the previous week.