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Dow jumps more than 550 points for best day since June as bond yields recede: Live updates

Starbucks 4Q earnings beat boosted by same-store sales and higher prices. How to play the stock
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Starbucks 4Q earnings boosted by higher prices, traffic. How to play the stock

Stocks gained Thursday as Treasury yields fell, with investors betting the Federal Reserve could be done raising rates for 2023.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 564.5 points higher, or 1.7%, to settle at 33,839.08, garnering its best day since June. The S&P 500 added 1.89% and closed at 4,317.78, for its best day since April. It was also the first time the S&P 500 posted back-to-back gains of more than 1% since February. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.78% and settled at 13,294.19, marking its best session since July.

On a weekly basis, the S&P 500 is up about 4.9%, and the Dow is up 4.4%. The Nasdaq is on pace for a gain of more than 5%.

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Dow, 1-day

The rally was broad-based, with all 11 S&P 500 sectors ending the day in positive territory. Gains were led by energy and real estate, which both rose 3.1%.

Bond yields declined, with the 10-year Treasury yield dropping by about 12 basis points to 4.668%. That comes after the benchmark yield topped 5% last month.

Data released Thursday morning showed easing inflation and a slowing labor market, adding to investor confidence that the Federal Reserve could be done raising rates. Labor costs unexpectedly dropped in the third quarter, the Labor Department said Thursday. And weekly jobless claims ticked higher to 217,000.

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10-year Treasury yield, 1-day

The Fed on Wednesday kept interest rates unchanged for a second straight time, unleashing a rally in the Dow of more than 200 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each ended up more than 1%.

"This is a bounce off of a few very bad months in the equity market, a really massive sell off in fixed income. The Fed meeting is behind us. We can now look forward to some of the economic data and see if that confirms the Fed can stay on hold indefinitely," said Megan Horneman, chief investment officer at Verdence Capital Advisors. 

To be sure, Horneman is concerned investors may be overly optimistic as Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday noted he would not rule out a rate increase at the December meeting.

"I think that there still is volatility we'll see in inflation," Horneman said. "The one thing that concerns us is that inflation is extremely easy to reignite."

Stocks settle higher Thursday

U.S. stocks closed higher Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 564.5 points, or 1.7%.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gained 1.89% and 1.78%, respectively.

— Hakyung Kim

Apple shares gain 2% ahead of earnings

Tech giant Apple jumped 2% Thursday, just before its September quarterly earnings announcement after the bell.

The stock is up 36.6% for the year, but was down about 11% from its year-to-date high in July as of Wednesday's close.

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Apple shares

— Hakyung Kim

Small cap semiconductor stocks are showing signs of weakness, Wolfe Research says

Small cap semiconductor stocks are breaking further away from their megacap peers, according to Wolfe Research.

Senior analyst Rog Ginsberg wrote in a Wednesday note that semiconductor stocks are a pivotal barometer of overall market wellbeing. Small cap semis, he says, are already showing signs of breaking down.

"Now while it's obviously the Mega Cap Semi names that are the real market movers, the breakdown within their small cap counterparts can't go unnoticed," Ginsberg said. "Unless this relationship is going to decouple, the deeply oversold condition in small caps needs to aggressively respond. Failure to do so would just provide an additional warning sign for the broader market."

— Brian Evans

Most Dow members poised for notable gains this week

The majority of stocks in the 30-member Dow are on track for noteworthy gains so far this week, pushing the index more than 4% higher.

Goldman Sachs is leading 29 stocks in the blue-chip average higher compared with where they started the week, with the bank climbing more than 8%. Nike, Verizon and Boeing are also among the best performers on the week as each has added more than 7%.

More than half of stocks in the index have advanced more than 4% this week, all but two are up at least 1%. Merck is trading slightly above flat on the week, while Caterpillar has slipped 0.4%.

— Alex Harring

Despite quadrupling in price so far this year, Stifel says MoonLake still has room to rally

Shares of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics are up an eye-watering 354% so far this year, but Stifel analyst Alex Thompson says that investors who may have missed out needn't despair.

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MLTX YTD chart

Stifel initiated coverage of the stock at a buy rating and corresponding price target of $75, indicating 54% upside potential.

"While we've already missed out on the run this year (>350% vs. XBI -20%) following data in Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) supporting a best-in-class IL-17 profile, we think there's clear room for potential upside via derisking of additional indications and/or M&A," Thompson wrote.


CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Targa Resources, ConocoPhillips lead energy gains

The energy sector jumped 2.6% Thursday as oil prices gained more than $2 a barrel, or nearly $3, to break a three-day losing streak.

Targa Resources led the sector gains, rallying nearly 7%. ConocoPhillips and Hess were the subsequent winners, up 5.2% and 3.4% for the day, respectively.

Energy is on pace for week-to-date gains of nearly 3%.

— Hakyung Kim

Stocks making the biggest moves Thursday

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.

Starbucks — Shares jumped more than 10% after the company posted an earnings and revenue beat in the fiscal fourth quarter. Management also reported better-than-expected performance in China, its second-largest market.  

Roku — The streaming video platform rallied 25% after its latest quarterly announcement. The company's third-quarter revenue and guidance for the fourth quarter came above analysts' expectations. Roku reported $912 million in revenue, versus the $855 million Wall Street had forecasted, according to LSEG. 

SolarEdge — The solar stock dropped 7.5% a day after SolarEdge posted disappointing third-quarter results and slashed its outlook for the current quarter's revenue. The company was downgraded on Thursday by multiple firms, including Truist, BMO Capital Markets and Guggenheim, on the back of its earnings.

The full list can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

Here’s what analysts at major Wall Street firms expect from Apple’s quarterly earnings

Analysts on Wall Street are cautious on Apple ahead of the tech giant's its fiscal fourth-quarter report Thursday amid signs of softening demand.

The tech giant's quarterly results come on the heels of several product launches. Apple released its long-awaited iPhone 15 product line with USB-C charging in September, as well as a new Apple Watch and updated AirPods. On Monday night, it held an unusual night-time launch event to announce its new PC chips, Macbook Pro laptops and iMac model.

The September quarter results will only encompass approximately a week of the iPhone 15 sales. Analysts will be keeping a close eye on the company's current December-quarter guidance for insight on iPhone 15 sales.

To see what analysts are saying ahead of the announcement, click here.

— Hakyung Kim

Walgreens and Nike lead the Dow higher

Walgreens and Nike were top contributors to the Dow's rally on Thursday.

The Dow climbed more than 350 points, or 1.1%. Part of that upward momentum came from Walgreens and Nike shares, which advanced more than 4% and 3%, respectively.

To be sure, the lion's share of the 30 stocks in the blue-chip average traded higher in the session. Travelers was the only stock down more than 1%. Merck, which slipped 0.3% in midday trading, was the only other Dow stock trading lower.

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The Dow, 1-day

— Alex Harring

Flagship Ark Invest fund climbs as top holdings rally

The post-earnings surge for Roku is powering a big rally for the Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK).

Cathie Wood's flagship fund, which counts Roku as one of its top 5 holdings, was up 8% in midday trading. Top holdings Coinbase and Tesla were also rallying on Thursday.

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Shares of ARKK rallied sharply on Thursday.

This would be the fourth positive day in a row for ARKK, which is now up about 22% year to date.

— Jesse Pound

All 11 S&P 500 sectors are higher, real estate outperforming

The stock rally was broad-based, with all 11 S&P 500 sectors trading in positive territory. Leading those gains were real estate and energy, up by 3% and 2%, respectively.

— Sarah Min

Roku shares surge 30% after revenue beat

Roku shares surged 30% Thursday after the company posted a third-quarter revenue beat.

The streaming device company on Wednesday reported revenue of $912 million, greater than the $855.2 million expected by analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv. It did post a wider-than-expected loss of $2.33 per share, more than the loss of $2.12 per share consensus estimate.

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Roku

— Drew Richardson, Sarah Min

Apple rises as investors ready for earnings

Apple shares advanced 2% on Thursday as investors readied for the technology giant's earnings report due after the closing bell.

Beyond the Big Technology company's earning, investors will also watch for quarterly reports from companies including Block, Booking Holdings, Coinbase, Dropbox, Expedia and Paramount Global.

Also among the bevy of companies posting earnings after the bell: Carvana, DraftKings, Live Nation, Sweetgreen and Yelp.

It's shaping up to be a better earnings season than Wall Street expected more than three quarters of companies in the S&P 500 done reporting. Of those that have already posted results, about four out of every five have surpassed Wall Street expectations, according to FactSet.

— Alex Harring, Bree Doyle

Vix falls to lowest level in three weeks

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX)— Wall Street's preferred fear gauge — traded as low as 16.12 on Thursday, a level not seen in three weeks. This comes as stocks rallied for a second straight day on hope the Federal Reserve is done raising rates for the year.

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VIX hits 3-week low

— Fred Imbert

Stocks open higher Thursday

The major averages opened in positive territory Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 213 points, or by 0.66%. The S&P 500 gained 0.96%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.22%.

— Sarah Min

Individual investor bearishness soars to highest since last Christmas, AAII says

Bearishness over the short-term outlook for stocks climbed to 50.3% in the latest weekly survey from the American Association of Individual Investors, the highest since last Christmas (Dec. 22, 2022) , up from 43.2% last week and far above the historical average of 31.0% for a seventh week.

Bullishness over the short-term outlook for stocks dropped to just 24.3% in the weekly poll, the weakest since mid-May, down from 29.3% last week and below the historical average of 37.5% for a third week.

That's all good news for contrarian investors who believe declining bullishness means there's cash on the sidelines that can come into the stock market, at the same time as rising bearishness means most of the selling is out of the way.

— Scott Schnipper

Treasury yields keep sliding, pushing stock futures higher Thursday

Yields on Treasurys kept sliding early Thursday, helping push U.S. stock index futures higher as debate raged over whether "risk on" trades will return.

Two-year Treasury notes yielded 4.954% and 10-year notes had fallen all the way 4.691% after briefly topping 5% two weeks ago. Bids in Treasurys come as the chance of another quarter point Federal Reserve rate increase at its Dec. 13 policy meeting crumbles -- down to a less than 1 in 7 probability (14.6%), according to the CME FedWatch tool that uses interest rate futures prices.

S&P 500 index futures were recently 31 points higher at 4237, up about 0.7%, while Nasdaq-100 futures climbed 161 or 1.1% to 14,906.

As inflation weakens, "yields will probably drop further but settle at a much higher level than before the pandemic," London-based Capital Economics wrote Thursday.

— Scott Schnipper

Fed gets some good news in falling labor costs

The Federal Reserve got some good news related to inflation Thursday morning with labor costs unexpectedly falling by 0.8% in the third quarter versus expectations for a 0.7% increase, according to economists polled by Dow Jones.

Weekly jobless claims came in slightly higher than expected, pointing to an economic slowdown the Fed wants. Jobless claims rose to 217,000 for the week, compared to the consensus economist estimate of 214,000, according to Dow Jones.

Treasury yields continued their slide lower as the numbers hit and stock futures extended their gains.

—John Melloy

Market sees only a small chance of a December rate hike

Markets found enough in this week's Federal Reserve meeting to suggest that there's only a small chance of any additional interest rate hike.

The odds for a December increase fell Thursday morning to 14.6%, according the CME Group's FedWatch Tool, which uses fed funds futures pricing to gauge probabilities. A month ago, the chances of a move in December were at 39%.

Futures pricing, which can be volatile and swing quickly, now indicates that the first rate cut could come as soon as May.

—Jeff Cox

Peloton shares drop after wider-than-expected loss

Peloton shares dropped 6% in premarket trading Thursday after the connected fitness company reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and a tepid holiday forecast.

Peloton posted a loss of 44 cents per share, more than the per-share loss of 34 cents expected by analysts surveyed by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv. Revenue beat expectations, coming in at $595.5 million, more than the $591 million anticipated.

The company is forecasting revenue of between $715 million and $750 million in its holiday quarter, representing an 8% drop at the midpoint compared to the year-ago period. That falls short of the $763.2 million analysts had expected for the company's fiscal second quarter, according to LSEG.

— Gabrielle Fonrouge, Sarah Min

Eli Lilly results top expectations but cuts full-year profit outlook

Eli Lilly on Thursday reported third-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings that topped estimates on strong demand for its diabetes drug Mounjaro, but slashed its full-year profit guidance due to charges primarily related to its recent acquisitions.

The pharmaceutical company reported earnings of 10 cents per share, far above expectations of a per-share loss of 13 cents, according to LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv. Revenue came in at $9.50 billion, more than the $8.95 billion expected.

The company lowered its 2023 adjusted earnings guidance to a range of $6.50 to $6.70, from a previous range of $9.70 to $9.90 per share.

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Eli Lilly

— Annika Kim Constantino, Sarah Min

Moderna takes $1.3 billion unused Covid shot write-down

Moderna posted a sharp third-quarter loss due in large part to a $1.3 billion write-down from unused Covid-19 vaccines.

Overall, the company reported a loss of $9.53 per share. It was unclear if that's comparable to an LSEG estimate of $1.93 per share. Revenue, however, exceeded analyst expectations.

Shares dipped more than 2% in the premarket.

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MRNA slips

— Fred Imbert

Treasury yields fall

Treasury yields were down across the curve as traders assess the prospects of the Fed being done raising rates for the year.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield traded at 4.718%, down 7 basis points. The shorter-term 2-year note yield was down about 2 basis points at 4.956%.

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10-year Treasury yield 1-day chart

— Fred Imbert

Europe stocks open higher

European stock markets opened higher Thursday after notching a third straight positive session.

The Stoxx 600 index was up 1.16% at 8:28 a.m. London time, with France's CAC 40 gaining 1.26% and Germany's DAX up 1.16%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 was 1% higher.

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Stoxx 600 index.

— Jenni Reid

Hong Kong retail sales clock slowest growth since start of the year

Hong Kong's retail sales grew at their slowest pace since January, highlighting the impact of a global high interest rate environment.

Retail sales for September rose 13% on a year-over-year basis, less than the prior month's 13.7% rise, official data showed late on Wednesday.

"The culprit of sluggish recovery is elevated interest rates, which has been dampening consumption & tourism, external trade, and investment," said Samuel Tse, a DBS economist. "HK economic fundamentals closely follows the Mainland (China)."

Tse says external demand from both China and the rest of the world were tepid, highlighting that rising rates restrained consumption through high fixed deposits rate, a strong Hong Kong dollar and a weak asset market.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Australia September trade surplus narrows to lowest in 32 months

Australia's balance of goods for September narrowed to 6.79 billion Australian dollars ($4.37 billion) on seasonally adjusted basis, official data showed.

The reading was the narrowest since March 2021, and below a Reuters poll forecast of AU$9.64 billion.

Exports fell 1.4%, driven by a drop in non-monetary gold shipments. Imports jumped 7.5%, led by a 74% surge in imports of industrial transport equipment.

The Australia Bureau of Statistics said it has ceased reporting data on trade services monthly and it will now be published quarterly.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

South Korea reports hotter than expected inflation rate, accelerating for third straight month

South Korea's inflation rate quickened for the third straight month in October, with the consumer price index increasing 3.8% year-on-year.

This was higher than the 3.6% expected by economists polled by Reuters, and also more than the 3.7% rise in September.

The reading marks the third straight month that the inflation rate in the country has climbed, after hitting a 25-month low of 2.3% in July.

— Lim Hui Jie

Stocks on pace for weekly gains

With more than half of the trading week now in the rearview mirror, the three major indexes are on pace to finish higher.

The Dow and S&P 500 have climbed 2.6% and 2.9%, respectively, since the start of the week. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 3.3%, underscoring the particularly strong performance of technology stocks.

— Alex Harring

See the stocks moving in extended trading

These are some of the stocks moving after hours:

  • SolarEdge — The solar stock cratered 23% after SolarEdge posted a dismal third-quarter report and outlook for current-quarter revenue. 
  • Qualcomm — Shares jumped 3.6% after the wireless technology exceeded analysts' estimates in its fiscal fourth quarter,
  • Airbnb — The vacation rental platform fell almost 3% on the back of underwhelming revenue guidance.

See the full list here.

— Alex Harring

Stock futures are little changed

Stock futures traded near flat Wednesday night.

Dow futures sat near the flatline, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures each inched about 0.1% higher,

— Alex Harring