S&P Positive for 4th Day
The S&P 500 ticked higher on Thursday, putting its three-day winning streak at risk. The benchmark has been on a tear this week after the Trump administration and China hammered out a temporary suspension of their tit-for-tat tariff dispute.
The Dow Jones Industrials regrouped 118.8 points to break for lunch Thursday at 42,169.86,
Shares of Walmart dipped 1.2% after the company said it could raise prices in response to still-high tariffs from the Trump administration. Walmart reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue that matched Wall Street estimates.
The much-broader index recovered from early losses, collecting 12.66 points to 5,905.24
The NASDAQ Composite dipped 21.65 points to 19,125.16
Tech giants are putting up a strong showing week to date: Nvidia and Tesla are both up more than 14% and 13%, while Meta Platforms has added 10% in the period.
Amazon zoomed 7% and Alphabet is up more than 6% and 8%, The NASDAQ is higher by 6.% this week, trailed by the S&P 500, ahead 3.9%, and the Dow, up 1.7%.
Shares of Foot Locker surged 84% after the company announced that it would merge with Dick’s Sporting Goods for $2.4 billion. UnitedHealth slid 17% after The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar, that the Justice Department is probing the insurer.
A UnitedHealth spokesman later told the media that the insurer has not been notified by the DOJ of the “supposed” investigation reported.
Traders also assessed the state of the economy on Thursday, with an unexpected decline in wholesale prices last month. The producer price index for April declined 0.5% month-over-month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
Economists polled by Dow Jones forecast PPI would increase 0.3% on the month. Retail sales increased 0.1% in April, which matched consensus estimates, while industrial production numbers for April decreased slightly more than expected.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury climbed, lowering yields to 4.46% from Wednesday’s 4.53%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices capsized $1.85 to $61.30 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold regained $31.20 to $3,219.50
