The three major U.S. equities indexes closed higher Tuesday for a fourth straight day of gains. Stocks opened on the positive side, traded lower in the morning and then gradually regained their earlier levels. The Dow Jones industrials closed up by 0.63%, the S&P 500 up 0.94% and the Nasdaq up 0.50%. Strength in several big names, like Alphabet (up 7.50% for the day), Qualcomm (up 6.25%) and Marathon Petroleum (up 6.06%), were among the leaders. Among S&P 500 stocks, winners outnumbered losers by nearly three to one in Wednesday trading. Ten of 11 sectors closed higher, led by communications services (up 2.0%), real estate (up 1.7%) and utilities(up 1.5%). Consumer cyclicals lagged (down 0.6%).
At around 7:00 a.m. ET Thursday morning, S&P 500 futures traded down about 1.1%, the Nasdaq was nearly 2.2% and the Dow traded 0.3% lower.
Crude oil settled at $88.26 (up six cents) on Wednesday and traded down by about 1.4% in early morning trading Thursday at $87.06. The 10-year/two-year U.S. Treasury note spread ended the day at 0.63%, unchanged from Tuesday’s settlement.
The weekly report on new claims for unemployment benefits dropped by 30,000 week over week to 260,000, right at the consensus estimate. Continuing claims rose by 51,000 to 1.675 million.
Here are the five S&P 500 stocks that closed with the biggest gains on Wednesday: Alphabet (up 7.50%), Exelon (up 6.25%), Qualcomm (up 6.25%), PerkinElmer (up 6.22%) and Marathon Petroleum (up 6.05%).
Tuesday’s biggest losers among S&P 500 stocks were PayPal (down 25.90%), C.H. Robinson Worldwide (down 11.50%), Etsy (down 9.28%), Netflix (down 6.05%) and Boston Scientific (down 4.74%).
The leading gainer among S&P 500 stocks in Thursday’s premarket trading was T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS), which traded up by about 7.76% to $118.08, in a 52-week range of $101.51 to $150.20. The wireless carrier’s profits came in at more than double expectations, even though revenue missed. Guidance included estimated net new customers of 5.0 million to 5.5 million for 2022.
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) traded up about 5.2% to $421.86, above the current 52-week range of $351.20 to 475.44. Like T-Mobile, the health care company posted better-than-expected profits Wednesday morning and missed on revenue. Humana also raised earnings guidance for the new year to $24 per share.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) traded up 2.67% before markets opened Thursday, at $492.58 in a 52-week range of $320.35 to $509.23. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Tuesday updated Medicare Advantage payment policies for 2023. UnitedHealth, Humana and other insurers are expected to benefit from the changes.
Abiomed Inc. (NASDAQ: ABMD) traded up by about 2.28%, at $314.99 in a 52-week range of $261.27 to $379.30. The health care company announced quarterly earnings Thursday morning that beat both top-line and bottom-line estimates. It also raised revenue guidance for fiscal 2022.
Beckton Dickinson and Co. (NYSE: BDX) traded up 2.27%, at $262.50 in a 52-week range of $235.13 to $268.55. The medical services firm posted quarterly results that beat both profit and revenue expectations. It also raised profit and revenue guidance for this year.
Stocks trading lower in Thursday’s premarket session include Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), which traded down more than 22% at $251.39, below its 52-week range of $253.50 to $384.33. The company missed earnings estimates by more than 4%. Meta cited comparison with stronger demand in the year-ago quarter, changes to Apple’s tracking requirements, supply chain disruptions (including labor shortages) and front-loading by advertisers during the recent holiday season.
Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT) traded down about 10.4%, at $171.98 in a 52-week range of $164.41 to $387.44. The company beat both profit and revenue estimates and issued guidance in line with expectations. A recent controversy has highlighted a weakness in the company’s business model. The question is, how serious is the weakness? It has always been there.
Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) traded down by 7.12% in Thursday’s premarket, at $33.91 in a 52-week range of $32.05 to $80.75. Investor reaction to Meta’s weakness was affecting Twitter, Pinterest and Snap Thursday morning.
Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) traded down by about 4.6% to $136.98, in a 52-week range of $123.92 to $201.68. The chipmaker beat profit and earnings estimates late Wednesday but issued only in-line revenue guidance for the 2022 fiscal year.
PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) traded down by about 2.6% Thursday morning to $129.09, in a 52-week range of $129.01 to $310.16. The low was posted on Wednesday. The punishment will continue until morale improves, or until management gets shaken up.
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