The three major U.S. equity indexes closed higher Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrials added 1.29%, the S&P 500 increased by 1.56%, and the Nasdaq jumped by 2.59%. All 11 sectors ended the day higher, led by tech (2.7%), consumer cyclicals (2.4%) and communications services (2.4%).
Before markets opened Thursday morning, the U.S. Department of Labor released its weekly report on new and continuing claims for unemployment benefits. Economists were expecting new claims to rise from 256,000 last week to 260,000. Friday’s report on nonfarm payrolls will have more influence on investors. New jobs are forecast to rise by 250,000, well below June’s increase of 372,000. All three indexes traded higher in Thursday’s premarket session.
After markets closed on Wednesday, electric vehicle maker Lucid missed consensus estimates on both the top and bottom lines. The worse news was that the company lowered its production outlook for the year by 50% to a new range of 6,000 to 7,000 vehicles. Shares traded down 12.6% Thursday.
APA reported better-than-expected earnings per share (EPS) and revenue. The company expects to generate $3 billion in free cash flow this year and further expects to return $1.8 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. The stock traded down about 1.5%.
Energy Transfer also beat top-line and bottom-line estimates. Shares traded up about 2.4%.
Before markets opened on Thursday, Alibaba reported better-than-expected EPS and revenue. Shares traded up by more than 7%.
ConocoPhillips beat consensus estimates on both the top and bottom lines and announced a $5 billion increase to $15 billion for its 2020 capital return to investors. Shares traded up about 2.4%.
Paramount Global also beat top-line and bottom-line estimates, but a 6% drop in ad revenue put investors in a bad mood. Shares traded down more than 4%.
After markets close Thursday afternoon, AES, AMC, Block, Virgin Galactic and Warner Bros. Discovery will be reporting quarterly results. Friday morning, before U.S. markets open, Canopy Growth, DraftKings, and Western Digital will report.
24/7 Wall St.Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Editors' Picks
