4:14pm: Record-breaking session
US stocks finished Thursday's session in positive territory, with the S&P 500 achieving a new record close.
The index rose by 0.5%, closing at 6,118.7 points. The Dow finished up 0.9% at 44,565 points while the Nasdaq added 0.2% at 20,053 points.
3:12pm: Chip stocks down
Nvidia shares moved lower after concerns were raised by its supplier SK Hynix regarding semiconductor demand in 2025.
Although SK Hynix anticipates continued growth in AI-related memory chips, the overall sentiment remains cautious due to an expected deceleration in AI spending growth from 2025 onwards.
Nvidia's shares fell 0.5% while Arm Holdings’ US-listed shares tumbled 8.7% and Micron Technology fell 4.2%.
12:46pm: Trump speaks at Davos
President Donald Trump has pledged to bring down interest rates and reiterated his intention to introduce aggressive tariffs during an address at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Trump also said he plans to ask Saudi Arabia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to lower oil prices claiming this would end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Oil prices moved lower following his remarks, with crude down 1.2% at about $74.50 per barrel.
Additionally, he called on NATO allies to increase their defense spending to 5% of GDP.
Trump also reiterated his commitment to imposing tariffs on countries that do not manufacture products in the US stating: "If you don't make your product in America, you will pay a tariff.”
Wall Steet’s reaction to Trump’s speech was muted, with stocks remaining mixed in the early afternoon.
The Dow Jones was up 0.6%, the S&P 500 added 0.1% while the Nasdaq had fallen 0.3%.
11:47am: Bitcoin rallies
Bitcoin added about 2% at $105,395 as the cryptocurrency attempts to climb back to its record of more than $108,500 seen on the Monday before President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
This comes amid a bullish forecast from Blackrock boss Larry Fink who believes Bitcoin could one day top the $700,000 mark.
Speaking to Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he revealed discussions with sovereign wealth funds over buying into Bitcoin to stave off fears around the likes of dollar weakness on stubborn inflation.
“If everyone adopted that conversation, it would be $500,000, $600,000, $700,000 per Bitcoin,” he said.
“If you’re frightened of the debasement of your currency, you can have an internationally based instrument called Bitcoin that will overcome those local fears.”
10:33am: Jobless claims inflated by California fires, says economist
Initial jobless claims increased slightly last week to 223K, from 220K, above the consensus forecast of 220K.
Continuing claims rose to 1,899K, from 1,853K, well above the average econmost forecast of 1,866K.
"The wildfires in California are the primary driver of the further rise in initial claims," says Samuel Tombs, chief US economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
Claims in California sore rose to 61K from 54K the previous week, and were 14K higher than in the same week a year ago, compared to just 2K previously.
He notes that seasonally adjusted claims so far this year have averaged 214K, slightly below their 2024 average, "but we continue to think the seasonal adjustment process has adapted too slowly to the tendency in recent years for lower peaks in layoffs in the winter and a higher concentration in the summer".
Claims also were very low in the first quarters of 2023 and 2024, he points out, before rising sharply in the second.
"In reality, then, we think claims roughly are running at levels usually seen in 2024, when the unemployment rate rose by half a percentage point."
But more "worryingly", he says, WARN layoff announcements in November and December were 22% above their average in the first 10 months of 2024, according to data compiled by the Cleveland Fed, with this data very closely related to layoffs in one-to-two months time.
The US unemployment rate is likely to tick up to 4.2% in January from 4.1% in December, if continuing claims are unchanged in the week ending January 18, the reference week for the household survey, Tombs says.
9:50am: Mixed start, EA drags
US shares have got off to a mixed start.
The Dow Jones is the only one of the main indices in the green, up 0.3% thanks to gains for UnitedHealth Group, Goldman Sachs, Verizon and American Express.
Elsewhere the S&P 500 is just below flat and the Nasdaq Composite has fallen 0.4%, with the small and mid-cap Russell 2000 down by the same percentage.
Electronic Arts Inc is a big faller, down 14% (see below).
Among the mega caps, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon and Broadcom are in the red.
9:12pm: UBS bullish on US stocks
US stocks have further room to rally despite mounting uncertainty, UBS strategists reckon.
Though near-term volatility is seen as likely while President Trump lays out his policy priorities following Monday’s inauguration, the Swiss bank highlighted a string of factors set to support growth, led by investment in artificial intelligence, spearheaded by the unveiling of the US$500 billion AI infrastructure 'Stargate' plan.
Ongoing US economic growth and interest rate cuts were also seen as boosting equities, in spite of inflationary pressure from sweeping tariffs threatened under Trump.
UBS believes Trump’s tariff measures "should not keep inflation from moderating further" and, while stressing that watching the new administration’s next moves closely was essential, "investors should not lose sight of the fundamentals that remain favorable for US equities".
“We continue to like technology, utilities, and financials, and see value in utilizing structured strategies to navigate near-term volatility.”
A string of big technology earnings are due in the coming weeks, including from Apple Inc and Meta Platforms Inc, which UBS expects to provide upward pressure too.
8:51pm: EA says it's in the game
Electronic Arts Inc shares have tumbled 17% in pre-market trading after the video games publisher slashed guidance on a slowdown in its EA Sports FC franchise over the third quarter.
Newly released title ‘Dragon Age’ had also attracted 50% fewer players than expected, at 1.5 million, EA added.
Having guided for mid-single-digit growth in live services net bookings over the year, EA on Wednesday said a mid-single-digit decline was now expected.
7:29am: Rocky start expected
Wall Street stocks are in store for a more rocky start to trading on Thursday.
Futures markets see the Nasdaq 100 and Russell 2000 falling 0.5%, with S&P 500 futures down 0.2% but Dow Jones futures up slightly.
This follows a positive session the day before, where the Nasdaq Composite index was out in front with a 1.3% gain, led by Netflix, Nvidia Microsoft and Oracle.
All the indices are only a touch short of the record highs hit towards the end of last year.
Many tech companies reacted positively to President Trump’s announcement of the ‘Stargate’ project, which should ultimately see around $500 billion invested in AI infrastructure over the next five years.
"US stock indices have recovered from their end-of-year pullback which saw all the majors fall as bond yields jumped to twelve month highs," said market analyst David Morrison at Trade Nation.
He noted that the release of a relatively benign CPI reading last Wednesday had seen yields fall back, with markets once again pricing in the possibility of two internet rate cuts this year from the Federal Reserve.
Results from the fourth quarter earnings season are also providing a tailwind, he says, helped by strong numbers from Netflix and United Airlines on Tuesday.
Today there are reports from Texas Instruments, General Electric and American Airlines, amongst others.
Today the coverage around the World Economic Forum summit in Davos could get more wild as the gathering of pro-globalisation leaders prepares to hear from returned US President Donald Trump, who makes a virtual appearance.
"Coming off the back of the decision to leave the WHO and Paris Accord, this appearance is likely to lay out a relatively combative America First approach that involves a raft of tariffs aimed at redressing the balance of trade back in favour of the US," said market analyst Joshua Mahony at Scope Markets.