US stocks stall as early enthusiasm ebbs
NEW YORK: US stocks closed lower on Thursday as early gains faded, following the latest round of corporate earnings and economic data, as investors awaited results from megacaps Amazon and Apple due after the closing bell.
Microsoft shares rose 3.5% after it posted a strong earnings report and briefly surpassed the US$4 trillion market cap threshold, becoming only the second publicly traded company to ever touch the milestone after Nvidia.
Meta Platforms surged 11.3% to close at a record high of US$773.44 as AI-driven growth in its core ad business powered a bullish revenue forecast. Still, other AI-related names were weaker on the session. Names such as chipmakers Broadcom, which lost 2.9%, and Nvidia, off 0.8%, weighed on the PHLX semiconductor index . The chip index dropped 3.1% for its biggest daily percentage decline since April 16.
"Looking at the market action today, you have haves and have-nots, and so you have a couple tech companies, like a lot of the semiconductor-related and semi-cap equipment-related stocks are doing pretty poorly," said Ellen Hazen, chief market strategist at F.L. Putnam Investment Management in Lynnfield, Massachusetts.
"But then, of course, Microsoft is doing pretty well, and the same thing with Amazon and Meta, which are doing really well."
Of the 297 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings through Thursday morning, 80.8% have topped analyst expectations, according to LSEG data, compared with the 76% beat rate over the past four quarters.
After the closing bell, Amazon shed 2.6% in extended trade after reporting quarterly results.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 330.30 points, or 0.74%, to 44,130.98, the S&P 500 lost 23.51 points, or 0.37%, to 6,339.39 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 7.23 points, or 0.03%, to 21,122.45.
The S&P 500 had risen as much as 1% and the Nasdaq as much as 1.5% earlier in the session. The Nasdaq has not logged a move of at least 1% in either direction since July 3 while the S&P last recorded a daily 1% move on June 24.
Earlier economic data from the Commerce Department report showed inflation picked up in June, with new tariffs pushing prices higher and stoking expectations that price pressures could intensify in the coming months, while weekly initial jobless claims signalled the labour market remained on stable footing.
Investors will now eye Friday's non-farm payrolls report and a looming tariff deadline, as US President Donald Trump was expected to issue higher final duty rates for countries that have not reached an agreement, although Mexico was granted a 90-day reprieve.
US stocks have rallied after a sharp selloff that began in early April after Trump announced a bevy of sharp tariffs, only to rebound as deals have been struck with many trading partners on duty levels.
For the month, the S&P 500 gained 2.17%, the Nasdaq rose 3.7%, and the Dow climbed 0.08%. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq recorded their third straight monthly gain.
Drug stocks were also weaker after the White House said Trump sent letters to the CEOs of 17 major pharmaceutical companies, urging immediate action to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Americans. The NYSE Arca pharmaceutical index slumped 2.9%, its biggest drop since May 14 and fourth straight session of declines.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.55-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 1.98-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 35 new 52-week highs and 28 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 70 new highs and 141 new lows.
Volume on US exchanges was 19.65 billion shares, compared with the 18.01 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. — Reuters
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