Stocks rose slightly higher on Thursday as market participants looked ahead towards another key inflation report for May due out Friday morning for more clues on the Federal Reserve's next moves for interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 Index both settled above the flatline, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.3%.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +0.09% or +4.97 points to 5,482.87
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +0.09% or +36.26 points to 39,164.06
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +0.30% or +53.53 points to 17,858.68
In Focus:
Wells Fargo Senior Global Market Strategist Scott Wren wrote in a note to clients that the emerging artificial intelligence industry could see increases in demand for companies operating in the industrials and materials sectors.
"We believe the generative AI push will likely benefit the basic industries that both of these sectors represent," Wren said, adding that "the fact remains that little can happen to actually ramp up use of these products until the infrastructure has been adequately updated."
On the Earnings Front:
Walgreens (NASDAQ: WBA) shares dropped lower on Thursday after the retail pharmacy chain reported disappointing fiscal third-quarter earnings and cut its full-year adjusted profit outlook due to waning consumer demand. The company now expects fiscal 2024 adjusted earnings of $2.80 to $2.95 per share, from its previous range of $3.20 and $3.35 per share.
"The consumer is absolutely stunned by the absolute prices of things, and the fact that some of them may not be inflating doesn't actually change their resistance to the current pricing," CEO Tim Wentworth told CNBC in an interview. "So we've had to get really keen, particularly in discretionary things."
Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) reported better-than-expected quarterly results after market on Wednesday, and issued a revenue forecast that was in line with Wall Street estimates. The computer memory and storage maker expects for adjusted earnings per share of $1.08 on revenue of $7.6 billion for its current quarter.
"We believe that Micron will be one of the biggest beneficiaries in the semiconductor industry in the multi-year growth opportunity driven by AI," CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said during an earnings call with analysts.
Levi Strauss (NYSE: LEVI) shares were also under pressure after the denim retailer missed sales expectations in its fiscal second-quarter even as consumer demand for denim increases across the consumer discretionary sector. The company also reiterated its full-year guidance, expecting earnings per share between $1.17 and $1.27.
"Our transformational pivot to operating as a DTC-first company is yielding positive results around the world, giving me great confidence that we will achieve accelerated, profitable growth for the rest of the year and beyond," CEO Michelle Gass said in a statement.
For Friday:
All eyes will be on May's PCE index reading out Friday morning. Nike (NYSE: NKE) is also set to deliver quarterly results after market close on Thursday.