4:10pm: Hopes on Netflix earnings spark
US markets closed mostly lower, reflecting ongoing market doldrums as investors hoped Netflix's earnings report would ignite the earnings season.
The S&P 500 experienced its fifth consecutive session of declines, marking its longest losing streak of the year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average remained relatively flat, and the Nasdaq Composite continued its recent tech-related slide with a 0.5% drop.
Concerns over persistent inflation and the Federal Reserve's potential shift in interest rate policy have contributed to market unease.
Amidst this backdrop, investor focus has turned to corporate earnings.
The market’s direction is increasingly hinging on upcoming earnings seasons and ongoing economic indicators, said Rania Gule, market analyst at XS.com.
“With cautious expectations regarding rate cuts and inflation control, short-term market sentiments tend toward decline. Investors will need to closely monitor upcoming earnings reports and Federal Reserve signals to gauge potential market movements in the short and medium term, which could impact market sentiments,” Gule wrote.
“While US and global stock indexes have been far from their highs, they remain largely unfavored by investors.”
12:16pm: Netflix in the spotlight
At midday, the three major stock indexes rebounded as investors eagerly awaited Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX, ETR:NFC)'s earnings after the closing bell.
Stocks have slumped this month on concerns the Federal Reserve may delay interest rate cuts amid persistent inflation.
“The main theme in financial markets right now is the Federal Reserve’s double pivot in the US, from not cutting interest rates, to signaling more rates are coming to then reversing course again and saying that inflation remains too hot for rate cuts at this stage,” XTB research director Kathleen Brooks said.
“The market is actively pricing out the prospect of rate cuts in the US, and there is now a more than 20% chance that US interest rates will stay where they are currently until at least November, according to the CME Fedwatch tool.”
The Dow Jones led the gains at midday, up 0.5% at 37,931 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both added 0.3% at 5,039 points and 15,735 points respectively.
Major movers included Duolingo Inc, up almost 9% on its inclusion in the S&P MidCap 400, and 23&Me, which surged 47% on its plans to be taken private.
10.28am: Dow Jones leads jumps at open
The Dow Jones led the way with gains of 214 points on Thursday morning as Wall Street marked a positive start to the day.
The S&P 500 added 13 points while the Nasdaq just edged into the green with a one-point gain.
US economic strength was once again on display early on Thursday, as weekly jobless claims data remained unchanged at 212,000.
This was slightly stronger than expected, according to Validus Risk Management’s Ryan Brandham.
“This series continues to track at a strong level, with data continuing to demonstrate the strength of the US labour market and giving the Fed reason to be very patient in considering the timing of any rate cuts in 2024,” he said.
Among companies, Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC) skyrocketed 11% in early trading after boosting earnings guidance in a first-quarter update.
Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE:LVS)’s first quarter update seemingly failed to please investors in the meantime, sending the shares down 7% to top the day’s biggest fallers.
7.07am: Wall Street seen higher
Futures trading had the Dow Jones up 103 points at 38,094 ahead of Thursday’s opening bell.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 were up 54 and 13 points respectively at 5,075 and 17,713 in the meantime.
NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, ETR:NVD) was among those rising, by 1% in pre-market trading, after chipmaking rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co reported expectation-beating first quarter profits.
Taiwan Semiconductor has recently been “viewed as a key barometer of AI chip demand,” Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony said.
“There is a hope that the likes of Nvidia and Arm Holdings will see the buyers step in once again on the hope that we will see a similarly upbeat tone when they report in the coming weeks.”
Arm Holdings was up 0.3% ahead of the markets’ open on the news.
Among losers, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) fell 1.7% in pre-market deals after news broke that 300 temporary workers from its German plant had been let go as part of plans to cut staff globally.