The S&P 500 Index posted its fourth straight record close on Thursday as traders reacted to more encouraging economic data for May. The broader market index rose over 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped over 60 points and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.3%.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +0.23% or +12.71 points to 5,433.74
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.17% or -65.11 points to 38,647.10
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ) +0.34% or +59.12 points to 17,667.56
In Economic News:
The Producer Price Index (PPI) unexpected declined in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday, adding to building market optimism on recent data showing inflationary pressures are easing across the U.S. economy.
Wholesale prices, measured by the prices producers pay for their goods and services, decreased by 0.2% month-over-month and rose 2.2% annually. The monthly rate reversed April's 0.5% increase and came in below expectations.
On a core-basis, excluding food, energy and trade service prices, May's monthly rate was unchanged, also coming in below estimates for a 0.3% increase.
"The May CPI and PPI data are favorable for our view that the Fed will be reducing its policy rate later this year," said Stephen Juneau, economist at Bank of America, in a Thursday note, quoted by CNBC. "We see recent inflation data as greatly reducing the likelihood that the Fed has to raise rates and view labor market data as indicating that the probability of fast rate cuts is also low."
Initial Unemployment Claims rose by 13,000 week-over-week to 242,000 for the week ended June 8, the Labor Department reported Thursday, marking its highest level since August 2023. Continuing jobless claims, which are tracked a week behdine, also rose to a total of 1.82 million.
On the Earnings Front:
Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) shares popped higher on Thursday after the semiconductor maker posted stront fiscal second-quarter earnings and announced a 10-for-1 stock split, set to begin traded on July 15. Moreover, Broadcom increased its fiscal 2024 full-year sales outlook to about $51 billion, slightly above analyst expectations.
"Talking of AI accelerators, you may know our hyperscale customers are accelerating their investments to scale up the performance of these clusters," CEO Hock Tan said during the company earnings call on Wednesday, as the company posted $3.1 billion in AI-related sales during the quarter. "And to that end, we have just been awarded the next-generation custom AI accelerators for these hyperscale customers of ours."
Automaker Headlines:
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares were higher Thursday after CEO Elon Musk said shareholders are set to approve his $56 billion pay package and resolution to move the company's incorporation from Delaware to Texas.
Ford (NYSE: F) announced Thursday it is ending its electric vehicle dealership program EV-certified, which asked store owners to invest between $500,000 and $1.2 million to sale EVs, as demand grows at a slower-than-expected pace. The automaker has faced multiple lawsuits from dealerships due to the program. Now, Ford will allow all of its dealers to sell EVs, which Chief Operating Officer of Ford's Model E EV Business Marin Gjaja said during a media briefing is in effort to "help us grow our sales."
Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) announced Thursday it expects to grow global sales of Jeep vehicles by 50% in the next three years, the automaker said during its Investor Day, expanding production and sales to about 1.5 million units by 2027. Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa outlined three pillars of its growth strategy: customer choice of powertrains, expanding market coverage and globalization.
For Friday:
Market participants will turn their attention towards a series of Fedspeak as well as May's preliminary consumer sentiment reading.