Stocks closed higher on Thursday as an unexpected gain in U.S. retail sales boosted economic optimism heading into the new year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed nearly 160 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite added roughly 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index (SPY ): +0.26% or +12.46 points to 4,719.55
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA ): +0.43% or +158.11 points to 37,248.35
Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ ): +0.19% or +27.59 points to 14,761.56
In the spotlight, U.S. retail sales rose 0.3% in November over the previous month, the Labor Department reported on Thursday, topping estimates and offering another sign that the U.S. economy is recovering in response to easing inflation. Excluding auto sales, purchases rose 0.2%, while excluding autos and sales saw sales rise 0.6%. Annually, sales increased 4.1%.
Separately in economic news, initial unemployment claims totaled a seasonally adjusted 202,000 for the week ended Dec. 9, the Labor Department reported on Thursday, falling by 19,000 from the previous week and marking the lowest total since October.
On the earnings front, Adobe (ADBE ) shares fell on Thursday after the software company posted disappointing forward guidance for 2024 following its fiscal fourth quarter results. The company expects full year earnings per share of $17.60 to $18.00 on $21.3 billion to $21.5 billion in revenue. CEO Shantanu Narayen said Adobe is "extremely confident" about how the price of its subscriptions "continues to be a growth business," adding that "the pricing impact was overestimated" when the company increased the cost of some subscriptions this year.
In single-stock news, Intel (INTC ) unveiled its new artificial intelligence chip set to compete with those offered by Nvidia (NVDA ) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD ). The Gaudi3 chip is scheduled to debut next year, alongside new Core Ultra chips for Windows laptops and PCs, as well as the fifth generation Xeon server chips.
AT&T (T ) agreed to purchase some electric vehicles from Rivian (RIVN ), the companies announced Thursday, in part of a pilot program to study potential cost, emissions and safety benefits for company vehicles. This is Rivian's first deal since it ended its exclusivity deal with Amazon (AMZN ). AT&T plans to introduce Rivian electric commercial vans, R1T pickup trucks, and R1S vehicles for employee use in early 2024.
Moderna (MRNA ) and Merck (MRK ) released mid-stage trial data on Thursday that showed the pair's experimental cancer vaccine combined with Merck's therapy Keytruda helped reduce the risk of death or relapse in patients with melanoma after three years. Specifically, the experimental therapy cut the risk of death or return of cancer by 49% in late-stage cancer patients compared to trial participants that received only Keytruda after three years, and reduced the risk of cancer spreading by 62%.
For Friday, market participants will react to earnings from Costco (COST ) and Lennar Corp (LEN ).
