U.S. stocks soared Thursday afternoon, paving the way for new record highs. Investors welcomed a slew of updates as they awaited announcements from Jerome Powell, including strong U.S. economic data, an upbeat earnings report from Micron (MU) and China’s promise of more economic stimulus.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.6% and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose about 0.3% after both indexes retreated from their all-time highs in the previous session. Due to the sharp rise in Micron’s stock, the Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC), which has a high proportion of high-tech stocks, rose about 0.3%.
Stocks are starting to look positive again thanks to triple optimism on AI trade, the health of the US economy, and Chinese stimulus that could spill over into the US market.
Nvidia (NVDA) supplier Micron has raised its revenue forecast for next quarter, citing strong demand for its memory chips used in AI data centers. Chip stocks AMD (AMD), ASML (ASML), and STMicro (STM) rose following the earnings announcement.
Super Micro Computer (SMCI) stock balked during trading Thursday after the Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department is investigating the server maker following a Hindenburg Research short-selling report released last month. It plunged 14%.
The U.S. government’s final report on second-quarter GDP growth beat Wall Street expectations, with weekly jobless claims unexpectedly hitting a four-month low.
Meanwhile, China’s top leaders signaled they are doing everything they can to revive the moribund economy, with new pledges to raise government spending, stem a real estate crisis and support the stock market. The CSI 300 (000300.SS) is expected to have its best week in 10 years due to a significant rise in mainland stocks.
The upbeat mood was also boosted by rising expectations for further significant interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve (Fed). Traders are pricing in a roughly 50% chance of a 0.5% rise at the November meeting, compared with 40% a week ago.
Read more: What Fed Rate Cuts Mean for Bank Accounts, CDs, Loans, and Credit Cards
On Friday, much-anticipated numbers are expected to be released for the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the PCE index.
live10 updates
Thursday, September 26, 2024 12:58 PM CDT
30-year mortgage interest rates hit the lowest level in two years
The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell slightly this week to a two-year low.
Yahoo Finance’s Claire Boston reports:
Thirty-year mortgage rates averaged 6.08% as of Thursday, down from 6.09% a week earlier, according to Freddie Mac data.
The average 2015 mortgage rate rose 1 basis point to 5.16%.
Click here for details.
Thursday, September 26, 2024, 12:00 PM CDT
The U.S. economy did not have two quarters of negative GDP in 2022
A number of amendments to gross domestic product (GDP) were announced on Thursday. This included revisions from previous years.
There was one thing in particular that caught our eye. Initially, the Bureau of Economic Affairs analysis reported that the U.S. economy’s growth rate would decline at an annualized rate of 0.6% in the second quarter of 2022. This followed a negative first quarter, two negative factors that sparked recession discussions at the time. Quarterly GDP is often referenced as an indicator of economic recession.
After several revisions came to light on Thursday, it turned out that U.S. GDP had actually never been negative for two quarters. Revised GDP data shows the U.S. economy will grow at an annual rate of 0.6% in the second quarter of 2022.
This goes some way to explaining why the most widely predicted recession in history was never formally declared by the National Bureau of Economic Research. This is also a reminder of why predicting recessions is so difficult, and even some of the most prominent recession indicator creators say they never want to be a perfect tool for such a practice. he told Yahoo Finance.
Thursday, September 26, 2024 11:22am CDT
S&P 500 poised for record close
Benchmark indexes on track to close at new highs on Thursday as investors cheer a series of encouraging updates, including solid U.S. economic data, an upbeat earnings report from Micron (MU) and China’s promise of further stimulus. It has become. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is also scheduled to make a statement on Thursday, along with other Fed speakers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.6% and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose about 0.3% after both indexes retreated from their all-time highs in the previous session. The NASDAQ Composite Index (^IXIC), which has a high proportion of high-tech stocks, rose nearly 0.3% due to the sharp rise in Micron stock.
Thursday, September 26, 2024 10:33 a.m. (CDT)
Super micro stock tank 13% in Department of Justice investigation report
Super Micro Computer stocks plunged more than 13% and temporarily halted trading due to price fluctuations after the Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department was investigating the data center server maker. did.
The investigation comes after short seller Hindenburg Research released a report in August alleging “accounting manipulation” at the artificial intelligence high flyer.
Immediately after the news, the stock price fell by up to 17% and was suspended due to high volatility.
Thursday, September 26, 2024 10:16 a.m. CDT
Meta stock briefly hits all-time highs as Wall Street bets on AI vision
Yahoo Finance’s Laura Bratton reports:
Meta stock (META) rose to an intraday high on Thursday following a developer event that showcased the company’s artificial intelligence ambitions.
The stock rose to $577 after the market opened, but was down 0.7%, or about $564, by mid-morning.
At Meta Connect 2024 on Wednesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta’s latest AI model, Llama 3.2.
Click here for details.
Thursday, September 26, 2024, 10:00 AM CDT
Target’s CEO hopes to eventually remove locked cases to combat theft at retail stores
Yahoo Finance’s Brooke DiPalma reports:
Target (TGT) is trying to address a long-standing problem in the retail industry: theft in its stores.
“I feel much better today than I did a year ago,” Target CEO Brian Cornell said in an interview with Yahoo Finance for its “Lead This Way” series. “It goes back to support at the federal level, state level and local level.”
Cornell commented on recent legislation, including state efforts in California that are “starting to crack down” on market abuse.
Click here for details.
Thursday, September 26, 2024 9:40 a.m. CDT
Government shutdown averted for now, but two new spending battles loom
Yahoo Finance’s Ben Werschkul reports:
Congress avoided a shutdown and funded the government for three months, completing the final piece of pre-election legislation.
“I want to thank both the House and Senate for this bipartisan agreement and for avoiding a costly government shutdown,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
But that reprieve won’t last long, and the plan will put lawmakers back in the middle of multiple spending battles when they return to Washington in November after voting for voters.
Click here for details.
Thursday, September 26, 2024 9:19am CDT
Report shows 3% increase in oil tanks Saudi Arabia pledges to increase supply in December
More than 3% of crude oil is in storage on Thursday, after the Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia is determined to begin lifting voluntary production cuts from December 1, even if it means lower oil prices. It was done.
On Thursday, West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) fell below $68 per barrel. The international benchmark price, Brent (BZ=F), also fell below $71 per barrel.
OPEC+ is delaying putting more barrels on the market to support price increases. The Saudi-led oil alliance is losing market share to the United States and other oil producers.
Last year, the United States produced record amounts of oil and natural gas.
Thursday, September 26, 2024 8:30 a.m. CDT
Stock prices rise on strong economic growth data, semiconductor stocks also rise
U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 index (^GSPC) hitting a new intraday high and the chip sector rising on the release of better-than-expected GDP statistics and strong results from Micron (MU).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.5% and the S&P 500 rose 0.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC) led the market’s gains, rising 1.2% on the strength of Micron’s stock.
Micron’s results contributed to gains in the chip sector, including AI giant Nvidia (NVDA), which rose more than 2% in early trading.
U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) rose 3% in the second quarter from a year earlier, the latest economic data showed, faster than Wall Street expected.
Thursday, September 26, 2024 7:40 a.m. (CDT)
New economic indicators are announced that exceed expectations
The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 3% in the second quarter, faster than Wall Street expected.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis’s third estimate of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter was unchanged from the second estimate, which showed annual growth of 3%. Economists had estimated this figure to represent annual growth of 2.9%. The third estimate of second-quarter GDP confirmed that the economic growth rate was higher than the annual rate of 1.4% in the first quarter.
Separately, U.S. Labor Department data released Thursday showed 218,000 jobless claims were filed in the week ending Sept. 21, down from Wall Street expectations of 223,000. It went below. This is the lowest weekly number of applications since mid-May.
August durable goods orders also reported Thursday were flat, better than the 2.6% decline Wall Street had expected.
