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US stocks rose into the green at the opening bell on Thursday as investors assessed the latest earnings and looked ahead to Friday’s inflation reading to guide rate-cut bets, already dampened by a strong January jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) moved up by roughly 0.5%, after the blue-chip benchmark snapped a three-day win streak on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) both gained roughly 0.3% as the indexes move on from a choppy session that saw the major stock indexes end little changed.
The mixed picture comes as investors scrutinize incoming earnings closely for clues to the sectors vulnerable to AI disruption, which spurred the recent meltdown in software stocks. Cisco Systems (CSCO) stock fell over 7% at the open as its gloomy profit outlook overshadowed a rise in sales amid Big Tech’s AI buildout. The networking giant expects margins to be squeezed by memory costs, amid a shortage fueled by that same AI datacenter spending.
Meanwhile, attention is starting to turn to Friday’s Consumer Price Index report. A softer reading will build hopes that price pressures are easing while economic growth remains intact.
Before then, the weekly reading on jobless claims — which showed a smaller decline than expected — came in focus after nonfarm-payrolls data showed the US economy added twice as many jobs as anticipated in January. The strength in hiring complicates expectations for Fed policy. A resilient labor market, paired with sticky inflation, is seen as reducing the likelihood of near-term interest-rate cuts — a key driver of recent equity gains.
Elsewhere on the earnings front, McDonald’s (MCD) shares nudged higher after the burger giant’s earnings beat. Looking ahead, Coinbase (COIN), Applied Materials (AMAT), and Rivian (RIVN) are highlights on Thursday’s docket, all due after the market close.
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BofA: January jobs report signals no rate cuts under Powell, narrows Warsh’s path to cuts
Wednesday’s unexpectedly bullish jobs report has all but shuttered the odds of rate cuts under current Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and narrowed the path to cuts under a Kevin Warsh-led Fed, Bank of America economists wrote in a client note on Thursday, calling the report “a feast for the hawks.”
Data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday showed that the US added 130,000 jobs in January, doubling economists’ expectations of 65,000. The unemployment rate also fell to 4.3% from 4.4%, beating expectations that the rate would remain flat.
The data gave lift to the argument that even as inflation has stayed elevated, the labor market is remaining resilient. These conditions are seen as reducing the odds of rate cuts in the near future.
“Payrolls surged above all expectations, the downward revisions were minimal, and wages and hours were up as well,” the analysts wrote. “The broad-based strength in the Jan jobs report vindicates our view that the Fed won’t cut under Powell.”
For now, the economists wrote, BofA is maintaining its prediction of two rate cuts under a Warsh-led Fed. But the swing metric for potential rate cuts under Warsh, they wrote, will be the unemployment rate.
“The key risk to his call for significant cuts is a decline in the u-rate. Therefore, the path to cuts under Warsh (which we don’t think the economy needs) now looks narrower,” the BofA economists wrote.
“If the u-rate is stable or down even further by June, Warsh might be stuck on hold for the rest of the year.”
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US stocks rise at the open
US stocks rose in the first minutes of trading on Thursday as investors digested the latest string of earnings reports and looked ahead to Friday’s inflation reading as the next major signpost for rate-cut bets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) picked up roughly 0.5% as trading began, after the blue-chip benchmark snapped a three-day win streak on Wednesday. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) both rose around 0.3%.
Thursday’s weekly reading on jobless claims — which showed a smaller decline than expected — offered another picture of the labor market after nonfarm-payrolls data showed the US economy added twice as many jobs as anticipated in January.
On the corporate calendar, earnings from Coinbase (COIN), Applied Materials (AMAT), and Rivian (RIVN) are due after Thursday’s closing bell.
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Initial jobless claims fall by less than expected, continuing claims increase
The US saw 227,000 initial jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 7, exceeding expectations and marking a decrease from the previous week’s 232,000 initial claims, according to data released Thursday by the Department of Labor.
Economists had expected 223,000 claims for unemployment benefits, according to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Continuing claims for the week came in at 1.86 million, also exceeding economists’ estimates of 1.85 million and marking an increase over the previous week’s 1.84 million continuing claims.
The Labor Department data comes after investors received a stronger-than-expected read on payroll additions in January.
Data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed 130,000 jobs added in January, compared to estimates of 65,000 jobs. However, 2025 revisions knocked 400,000 job additions off the year’s total, bringing the monthly average of payroll additions to roughly 15,000 per month.
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European stocks rise after earnings boost
European stocks broadly gained on Thursday as earnings results from Siemens, EssilorLuxxotica, and others lifted sentiment.
Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) rose 1.3%. The index was lifted by a 6% increase in Siemens stock (SIE.DE) after the industrial company raised its 2026 earnings guidance due to strong artificial intelligence demand.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 (^STOXX) advanced another 0.3% after hitting a record high on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the CAC 40 (^FCHI) in Paris climbed 1%. Shares of component EssilorLuxxotica (EL.PA), the maker of Ray-Ban and Oakley sunglasses, jumped more than 6% after the company sounded bullish on revenue growth from smart glasses in its earnings report. EssilorLuxxotica expanded its partnership with Meta (META) to produce the AI glasses.
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Baxter stock sinks after forecasting 2026 profit below estimates
US healthcare company Baxter’s (BAX) stock sank 14% before the bell on Thursday following the release of its fourth quarter earnings, forecasting annual profit below Wall Street estimates. The company cited persistent problems from hurricane-related issues at one of its manufacturing plants.
Reuters reports:
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Magnum stock fall ‘reignites’ fears over weight-loss drugs
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Premarket trending tickers: Sanofi, Micron, and AppLovin
Sanofi (SNY) stock fell 6% before the bell on Thursday after the French pharmaceutical company ousted its CEO, Paul Hudson, thanking him Thursday for “valuable contributions” but without giving any reason for his surprise exit.
Micron (MU) stock rose 3% during premarket hours on Thursday after its CEO, brushed off concerns on Wednesday about competition growing in the memory chip space. Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) also claimed an early lead in the race to supply AI chips to Nvidia (NVDA). Samsung Electronics is a key competitor of Micron.
AppLovin (APP) shares fell 5% before the bell today following the group’s fourth-quarter earnings release on Wednesday, which beat Wall Street estimates. The advertising company’s shares have fallen almost 30% over the past month.
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Pharma companies left out of Trump’s drug-pricing deals look for a way in
Some smaller pharmaceutical companies not targeted by President Trump for deals to lower their US drug pricing are looking to craft their own agreements with his administration, industry sources told Reuters. The moves are a bid to avoid potentially onerous tariffs and new price-setting schemes.
Reuters reports:
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Cisco stock falls after 2026 guidance disappoints
Cisco (CSCO) stock fell 7% during premarket hours on Thursday after the networking company issued guidance below Wall Street forecasts.
For the full year, Cisco raised its guidance for earnings per share to $3.00 to $3.08 on revenue of $61.2 billion to $61.7 billion. However, the Street was looking for earnings guidance of $3.12 on revenue of $62.1 billion.
In Cisco’s second quarter, the company reported earnings per share of $0.80, compared to Wall Street analyst estimates of $0.74 per share, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Revenue rose 10% year over year to $15.3 billion, compared to estimates of $15.1 billion.
“We see strong, broad-based demand for our technology solutions and remain focused on capturing the significant opportunities we see ahead,” Cisco CFO Mark Patterson said.
Reuters reports:
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Oil climbs as US-Iranian tensions rise
Bloomberg reports:
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Gold falls after jobs report lowers rate-cut expectations
Bloomberg reports:
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