Trader Fred DeMarco works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021. Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street Thursday as investors reviewed encouraging jobs market data and a strong batch of corporate earnings reports. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
By Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga
A broad rally on Wall Street pushed stocks higher Thursday, nudging the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes to record highs.
The gains reversed the market's modest losses from a day earlier. Despite a choppy week of trading, the major indexes are on pace for weekly gains.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, eclipsing its previous all-time high set Tuesday. Technology stocks, retailers and other consumer-facing companies, and communications stocks helped lift the market. Banks made solid gains as long-term bond yields rose, which lenders rely on to charge higher interest rates on loans. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.21% from 1.18% late Wednesday. Only Health care and materials stocks fell.
Encouraging jobs data and a strong batch of corporate earnings reports helped put investors in a buying mood. Traders were also looking ahead to the government's latest monthly national jobs report Friday morning, which should provide insight into how the labor market is faring amid a surge in cases of the highly contagious COVID-19 delta variant.
“You do have a little bit of trepidation and concern around how the Covid flareups are going to impact things,” said Andrew Mies, chief investment officer at investment advisory firm 6 Meridien. "I don't think that anybody has a great idea of what the magnitude of this could look like if we go out two or three weeks.”
The S&P 500 index rose 26.44 points to 4,429.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 271.58 points, or 0.8%, to 35,064.25. The Nasdaq climbed 114.58 points, or 0.8%, to 14,895.12.
Smaller company stocks outpaced the broader market in a sign that investors are feeling more confident about economic growth. The Russell 2000 rose 39.69 points, or 1.8%, to 2,236.01.
Wall Street got another glimpse of the recovering jobs market after the Labor Department reported that unemployment claims — a proxy for layoffs — dropped last week by 14,000. The generally encouraging report follows a weak report from payroll processor ADP on Wednesday showing that the private sector added jobs at a much slower pace than expected in July.
The labor market has lagged other areas of the economy during the recovery from the virus pandemic. Investors will get a more comprehensive picture on Friday when the Labor Department releases its July jobs report.
Investors also weighed another batch of earnings reports. Underwear maker Hanesbrands jumped 6.3% after reporting solid second-quarter financial results. Booking Holdings rose 5.9% after it reported solid revenue.
Several companies that benefited from the shift in consumer habits during the height of the pandemic slipped after releasing disappointing results or forecasts. Online crafts marketplace Etsy fell 9.7% after giving investors a weak sales forecast as more people return to shopping in person. Video-streaming service Roku shed 4% after active accounts and streaming hours fell short of analysts' forecasts.
Weber, the pioneering grill maker, jumped 17.9% in its stock market debut.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
