S&P 500 hits record as jobless claims slide to pandemic low
Tesla, Microsoft, Netflix among companies closing in record territory
Gerber Kawasaki CEO Ross Gerber and Commonwealth Financial CIO Brad McMillan weigh in on the automaker's quarterly performance and other market earnings.
The S&P 500 rallied to record highs Thursday as investors sifted through a deluge of earnings reports and digested a pandemic-era low for weekly jobless claims.
The benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.3%, eclipsing its previous record high of 4,536.95. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, fell 7 points, or 0.02% to finish 0.1% below its all-time high while the Nasdaq added 0.62%, closing 1% below its own record peak.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 43389.6 | -55.39 | -0.13% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5893.62 | +23.00 | +0.39% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 18791.806377 | +111.69 | +0.60% |
Data released Thursday morning showed weekly jobless claims fell to a pandemic-era low. Existing home sales are due out later Thursday morning.
Following the data, the yield on the 10-year note rose 4 basis points to 1.67%, a five-month high.
In stocks, Tesla Inc. shares closed at a record high after the electric-vehicle maker reported record quarterly revenue and profits but warned supply chain bottlenecks would squeeze margins.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 338.74 | +18.02 | +5.62% |
Other tech names, including Netflix Inc. and Microsoft Corp, also hit fresh records.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFLX | NETFLIX INC. | 847.05 | +23.09 | +2.80% |
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 415.76 | +0.76 | +0.18% |
In other tech news, IBM Corp. posted weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue as cloud-computing sales edged up a disappointing 2.5%. The company said higher labor costs are not yet reflected in its pricing.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBM | INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP. | 208.09 | +3.10 | +1.51% |
AT&T Inc. beat on the top and bottom lines as the number of net new phone subscribers easily exceeded Wall Street estimates.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | AT&T INC. | 22.99 | +0.31 | +1.37% |
Southwest Airlines Co.’s quarterly loss narrowed as travel demand roared back. The airline said travel disruptions caused by air traffic control issues, staffing shortages and bad weather in Florida earlier this month cost the company $75 million.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LUV | SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. | 32.33 | -0.27 | -0.83% |
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Intel Corp. and Snap Inc. are among the companies set to release their quarterly results after the closing bell.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMG | CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL INC. | 58.81 | +0.18 | +0.31% |
| INTC | INTEL CORP. | 24.84 | +0.49 | +2.01% |
| SNAP | SNAP INC. | 10.55 | -0.05 | -0.47% |
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 92 cents to $82.50 a barrel while gold fell $2.90 to $1,781.20 an ounce.
Overseas markets were under pressure.
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European bourses were weaker across the board with Germany’s DAX 30 slipping 0.32%, France’s CAC 40 losing 0.29% and Britain’s FTSE 100 sliding 0.45%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 sank 1.87% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped 0.45%. China’s Shanghai Composite index, outperformed, trading up 0.22%.