4:10pm: S&P 500 reaches new high
Stocks rallied into to the close end the last trading day of the month, capping a fruitful first quarter of 2024 with a fresh record high for the S&P 500.
The S&P 500 ended the first quarter of 2024 at 5,254 points, a new record high and a gain of 0.1% on the day.
Elsewhere, the Dow rose more than 0.1% to 39,807 but the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped about 0.1%to finish at 16,379.
All told, however, all three major averages have now risen for five straight months. It's been a banner one for Wall Street: The S&P 500's more than 10% return to start the year marks its best first quarter performance since 2019.
Though Wall Street is closed Friday, investors will be watching for the main data event of the week: the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, which contains the Federal Reserve's preferred "core" PCE inflation measure.
12:25pm: Wall Street flat ahead of quarter end
US stocks are holding relatively flat on Thursday, the last session of the first quarter and before the Easter break.
The Dow Jones is up 23 points at 39,783, while the Nasdaq dropped 6 points to 16,392.
The S&P 500 is up 3 points at 5,252.
Looking at the first quarter, investors have seen indexes rally to all-time highs and stocks jump on the prospect of three interest rate cuts, with the first coming in summer.
Nvidia being the top performer of the quarter will be little surprise to investors after the AI chipmaker soared around 83% - breaking several records along the way.
Other strong risers include Micron Technology and Meta, up around 38%, while ASML jumped 28%.
Atlassian (NASDAQ:TEAM) had the hardest quarter and is set to drop around 18% during the period.
10.06am: Markets open higher as GDP growth hotter than first thought
The Dow Jones led markets slightly higher in early trading after data revealed that US gross domestic product (GDP) grew more than previously thought in the final quarter.
As per the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the third and final estimate for GDP over the last three months of last year was 3.4%, against the 3.2% originally thought.
Faster growth came from upward revisions in consumer spending and non-residential fixed investments, the BEA said.
The Dow Jones added 17 points to reach 39,777 on the data, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq climbed 4 and 6 points to 5,253 and 16,406 respectively.
The upward revision indicates “resilience in the US economy, despite what many would consider to be restrictive real interest rates,” Validus Risk Management’s Ryan Brandham commented.
Separate Labour Department data showed weekly jobless claims slipped by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 210,000 meanwhile, flat with previous readings and below expectations.
“Overall, this data will reinforce the stance of some Fed members who are questioning the necessity of three rate cuts in 2024,” Brandham explained.
“It will also support members of the Fed who are cautious about initiating cuts prematurely.”
Among companies, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA, ETR:W8A) was among the few reporting in the run-up to Easter, with shares rising after sales came in above expectations.
8.26am: Markets to open mixed
Futures trading had markets showing mixed ahead of Thursday’s opening bell.
The Dow Jones was called 9 points higher at 40,153, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq looked to slip 1 and 4 points to 5,307 and 18,499 respectively.
Thursday brings the release of revised fourth-quarter gross domestic product data, with previous readings showing 3.2% growth for the final three months of the year.
Jobless claims data is also expected, with the market anticipating a slight rise from the previous reading of 210,000 to 214,000.
That said, it’s Friday’s personal consumption expenditure data that has investors really on edge, according to Scope Market’s Joshua Mahony.
This should be “a key driver of sentiment over what the Fed might do from here,” he said, given recent commentary from policymakers that there was “no rush to lower interest rates as things stand”.
Anticipations that rates could start being cut in June seem optimistic as a result, he added.