The S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite rose to another record high on Thursday as the broader market continued its rally following Donald Trump's election victory and reacted to the Federal Reserve's latest policy decision. The broader market index rose over 0.7% to a new high of 5,973.10, while the tech-heavy index advanced 1.5% to its first close above 19,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, settled at the flatline after rallying over 1,500 points on Wednesday.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +0.74% or +44.06 points to 5,973.10
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): 0.00% or -0.59 points to 43,729.34
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +1.51% or +285.99 points to 19,269.46
FedWatch:
The Federal Reserve cut its federal funds target rate by 0.25 percentage points to a range of 4.50% to 4.75% on Thursday, in a move largely expected by Wall Street.
In his post-meeting statement, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is pursuing interest rate cuts in response to tight monetary policy, believing that lowering bowering costs are necessary for its goal of maintaining maximum employment and price stability. However, Powell noted that rising U.S. deficit and fiscal policy remain headwinds for growth of the U.S. economy.
"The federal government's fiscal path, fiscal policy, is on an unsustainable path," Powell said. "The level of our debt relative to the economy is not unsuitable, the path is unsustainable."
"And we see that in a very large deficit, you're at full employment [and] that's expected to continue, so it's important that be dealt with," Powell added. "It is ultimately a threat to the economy."
Separately, Powell said he will not step down if Trump asks for his resignation, telling reporters that it is "not permitted under the law," for a president to either fire or demote him. Trump said in an interview last month that the president should be able to be apart of interest rate decisions.
On the Earnings Front:
Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) shares jumped higher on Thursday as the ridesharing platform posted a record 217 million rides during the third-quarter, rising 16% year-over-year and coming ahead of estimates.
"At Lyft, we envision a robust future that brings together human drivers and autonomous vehicles in an always-on transportation network," CEO David Rischer told analysts during the company's earnings call on its multiple partnerships in the autonomous vehicle industry.
"Adding AVs is a huge opportunity, and we look forward to partnering with even more leaders in the industry to shape its future," Rischer added. "Stay tuned because this is just the beginning."
The company now expects bookings of $4.28 billion to $4.35 billion in the fourth quarter, coming ahead of consensus estimates from FactSet.
Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) shares also rose higher on Thursday after the biotech posted a surprise third-quarter profit, benefitting from its cost-cutting efforts and increased COVID vaccine sales.
The company said it plans to file for approval of its "next-generation" COVID vaccine and combination shot targeting COVID and the flu by the end of the year. Moderna also expects to apply to expand the approval of its RSV vaccine.
Moderna also reiterated its full-year 2024 product sales outlook of roughly $3 billion to $3.5 billion. The biotech currently has 45 products in development, and expects to launch 10 of them to the market over the next three years.
Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) shares rose nearly 12% on Thursday after the media giant said its Max streaming platform added 7.2 million global subscribers in the third-quarter, bringing its total subscriber base to 110.5 million.
Arm Holdings (NASDAQ: ARM) reported strong fiscal second-quarter earnings late Wednesday, but its shares came under pressure on Thursday as its sales outlook disappointed analysts. The chip designer expects fiscal third-quarter revenue between $920 million to $970 million, coming in-line with estimates, while its full-year forecast of $3.8 billion to $4.1 billion remaining unchanged from the prior quarter at its mid-point.
SolarEdge Technologies (NASDAQ: SEDG) shares dropped on Thursday after the residential solar power inverter maker reported disappointing third-quarter revenue. Notably, the company said it its implementing cost-savings measures to improve its financial outlook, including cuts to headcounts and operational expenses. SolarEdge is also planning to launch new products in 2025, aimed to address market needs and improve cost structures.
Bank of America analyst Dimple Gosai downgraded SolarEdge to Underperform from Neutral on Thursday and cut the firm's price target to reflect a more than 4% downside from Wednesday's close, citing potential headwinds from President-elect Donald Trump's proposed plans to amend the Inflation Reduction Act and raise tariffs that could impact the clean energy industry.
"We think inverter companies could be adversely affected in a scenario where we see risk to the domestic content bonuses and reduced residential ITC credits, diminishing the appeal of rooftop solar," Gosai wrote in a note to clients.
"Solar trackers could also face significant challenges on potentially softer demand from U.S. utility-scale solar developers, especially if tariffs and the loss of domestic content adders inflate project costs," he added.
For Friday:
Market participants will react to more Fedspeak as well as November's preliminary consumer sentiment reading on Friday, alongside earnings reports from companies including Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB), Block (NYSE: SQ), Cloudflare (NASDAQ: NET) and Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA).