Stock market today: Wall Street mostly quiet following a record-breaking session
Jun 5, 2024, 11:50 PM | Updated: Jun 6, 2024, 5:46 am
Wall Street was subdued before the bell Thursday, one day after markets were again pushed to records by the fever around artificial intelligence technology.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.1% in premarket trading, while futures for the S&P 500 future were unchanged.
Lululemon Athletica jumped more than 9% ahead of the opening bell after the yoga and athletic wear maker beat Wall Street’s sales and profit targets in a stronger-than-expected first quarter.
Vista Outdoors jumped more than 8% after MNC Capital Partners announced that it boosted its all-cash bid for the outdoor sports and recreation company to $39.50 per share, or over $3 billion. Its previous offer was $37.50 per share.
New York software company Sprinklr tumbled more than 22% after it beat Wall Street’s first-quarter sales and profit forecasts but issued full-year revenue guidance that disappointed investors.
The biggest potential market-moving news comes Friday when the U.S. government releases the May jobs report. The labor market has held up better than expected in the midst of higher interest rates imposed by the Federal Reserve in its effort to bring down inflation. However some softness has been evident in recent data, including a report this week that job openings in April fell to their lowest level since 2022.
The Fed keeps a close watch on the labor market and wages when it considers whether to cut, raise or leave its benchmark borrowing rate alone. The Fed meets next week and most analysts expect the U.S. central bank to leave rates alone for the seventh straight time.
In Europe at midday, market gave back some of their early gain after the European Central Bank cut its key interest rate. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.2% and Britain’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX each climbed 0.4%.
In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.6% to 38,703.51. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was 0.3% higher to 18,480.61 and the Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.5% at 3,048.79.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7% to 7,821.80 after data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the country’s trading surplus rebounded in April, with exports falling 2.5% and imports dropping 7.2%.
Taiwan’s Taiex surged 1.9%, with contract electronics maker Foxconn’s shares losing 1.2% despite the company reporting its revenue rose 22% year-on-year in May, a record high for the month.
In India, the Sensex added 0.7% after Wednesday Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s coalition won a majority in parliament in the country’s national elections. In Bangkok, the SET lost 0.6%.
South Korea’s markets were closed for a holiday.
In other markets, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 70 cents to $74.77 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, was up 65 cents to $79.06 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 156.19 Japanese yen from 156.10 yen. The euro inched down to $1.0867 from $1.0868.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 climbed 1.2% to 5,354.03. The Nasdaq composite jumped 2% to 17,187.90 and likewise set a record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has less of an emphasis on tech, lagged the market with a gain of 0.2% to 38,807.33.
The rally pushed the total market value of Nvidia, which has become the poster child of the AI boom, above $3 trillion for the first time.
Nvidia is leading the way because its chips are powering much of the rush into AI. After rising 5.2% on Wednesday, the stock was up 1.7% before markets opened on Thursday. Its gain for the year is approaching 150%.
