Major U.S. stock indexes were higher Thursday morning as investors digested a flurry of earnings reports and economic data.
The Nasdaq Composite, which had its worst day since 2022 on Wednesday, was up 0.4%, after falling more than 1% earlier in the session. The S&P 500 was up 0.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1%.
Stocks plunged on Wednesday, led by steep declines for mega-cap technology stocks after Tesla (TSLA) and Google-parent Alphabet (GOOGL) disappointed investors with their earnings reports.
Each of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ technology stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, and several members of the group was under pressure again Thursday morning. Alphabet, Microsoft (MSFT), and Meta Platforms (META) were losing ground, while AI investor darling Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Tesla gained. Nvidia had fallen as much as 7% early in the session.
Elsewhere, shares of Honeywell (HON), Ford (F), AstraZeneca (AZN) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW) were all down sharply after earnings reports. International Business Machines (IBM) and ServiceNow (NOW) were up after their quarterly reports.
In addition to earnings, investors are keeping close tabs on economic data as they look for clues on when the Federal Reserve might start cutting interest rates. Data released Thursday morning showing that U.S. economic growth accelerated more than expected in the second quarter, didn’t seem to diminish investor expectations that the Fed will soon start cutting rates.
Fed officials have said repeatedly they need to see more evidence that inflationary pressures are receding, and recent data showing the economy cooling has boosted hopes for a rate cut. On Friday, the June reading on the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation will be released.
The yield on 10-year Treasurys, which is sensitive to expectations around rate cuts, was little changed at around 4.24%. Gold futures were down about 2%, while crude oil futures gained about 1%.
Honeywell Leads Dow Decliners After Guidance Cut
1 hr 10 min ago
Shares of Honeywell International (HON) fell over 4% Thursday morning after the maker of a vast array of commercial products lowered its full-year profit guidance based on management’s outlook for the rest of the year, including the impact of recently announced acquisitions.
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Honeywell now anticipates fiscal 2024 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $10.05 to $10.25, down from its previous outlook of $10.15 to $10.45. However, it raised its revenue guidance to a range of $39.1 billion to $39.7 billion from its earlier guidance of $38.5 billion to $39.3 billion.
The news offset strong second-quarter results, with Honeywell reporting adjusted EPS of $2.49, with revenue rising 4.7% from a year ago to $9.58 billion. Both were above estimates.
Honeywell was the biggest decliner among Dow Jones Industrial Average components.
Unilever Soars on Earnings, Ben & Jerry’s Spinoff Plan
2 hr 31 min ago
Unilever (UL) shares jumped Thursday as the consumer-goods giant posted an earnings beat, showing it is weathering the inflation pain hitting consumers better than rival Nestle.
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Investors also were encouraged by its lofty operating margin target for the year and its announcement that the spinoff of Ben & Jerry’s and the rest of its ice cream division was on track to be completed by the end of 2025.
Unilever shares were up more than 6% at a three-year high in early trading.
Ford Shares Plunge After Earnings
3 hr 16 min ago
Ford shares were down about 16% in early trading Thursday after the automaker reported quarterly earnings that came in below expectations and kept its full-year bottom-line outlook unchanged, as warranty costs continued to weigh on the company’s profitability.
Since breaking out from a descending channel in late June, Ford shares continued trending higher for several weeks but have undergone a retracement in recent trading sessions leading into the carmaker’s quarterly results.
Ford shares could attract buying interest at key chart levels including $12, $11.20, and $9.70.
Read our full technical analysis here.
Major Stock Index Futures Down Slightly
5 hr 14 min ago
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.1%.
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S&P 500 futures were off 0.2%.
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Nasdaq 100 futures were also off 0.2%.
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