Markets News, August 8, 2024: S&P 500, Nasdaq Post Biggest Gains Since 2022 as Economic Fears Ease, Tech Stocks Rally

Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Thursday

7 hr 48 min ago

• Advancers
• Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR) shares led the S&P 500 higher on Thursday, jumping 11.4%. The semiconductor firm specializing in power management technology posted strong quarterly financial results earlier in the week, beating revenue and earnings per share (EPS) expectations amid growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) power solutions.
• Shares of electronic technology manufacturer Parker-Hannifin (PH) soared 10.8%. The provider of motion and control technologies also topped quarterly sales and profit estimates, benefitting from robust demand in its aerospace services segment, despite headwinds in diversified industrials. Aftermarket strength helped boost sales and margins in Parker-Hannifin’s aviation business.

• Eli Lilly (LLY) shares popped 9.5% after the drugmaker reported better-than-expected sales and profits for the second quarter. Sales of Lilly’s diabetes and weight-loss treatments Mounjaro and Zepbound underpinned the strong performance. The company also raised its full-year revenue and earnings outlook, citing production expansions to improve its supply of the popular drugs.
• Decliners
• Shares of McKesson (MCK) sank 11.3% on Thursday, marking the steepest drop of any stock in the S&P 500, after the distributor of health care supplies missed quarterly sales estimates. McKesson said fewer product launches, slumping demand for COVID test kits, and a key customer shifting from arthritis treatment Humira to a biosimilar as factors behind the revenue shortfall.
• Monster Beverage (MNST) shares lost 10.9% following weaker-than-expected financial results. The company said slower foot traffic at convenience stores has pressured sales of energy drinks
• Shares of Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) dropped 8.9% after the entertainment giant posted a loss of nearly $10 billion for the second quarter, steeper than expected by analysts. The results included a $9.1 billion non-cash goodwill impairment charge reflecting a write-down in value of the company’s cable networks, which have been disrupted by streaming services.

–Michael Bromberg

Palantir Jumps on Microsoft Partnership

9 hr 37 min ago

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares soared Thursday after the company announced an agreement with Microsoft (MSFT) to provide the U.S. government with secure cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), and analytics capabilities for national security. Microsoft shares also gained.

The companies said the U.S. defense and intelligence community, which includes government organizations like the Central Intelligence Agency and military intelligence agencies, will have access to Palantir and Microsoft’s AI and cloud tech for national security missions.

The agreement provides the U.S. government agencies with large language models (LLMs) through Azure OpenAI Services, Microsoft’s cloud offerings through its partnership with OpenAI, and Palantir’s AI Platform (AIP).

Palantir has existing contracts with the U.S. government, including a contract with the U.S. Army focused on AI and machine learning.

Palantir shares were up 11% in late trading Thursday. The stock also jumped on Tuesday following a better-than-expected earnings report.

–Naomi Buchanan

Levels to Watch in the Price of Gold

9 hr 53 min ago

Gold prices recovered on Thursday after losing ground in the past several sessions amid the broader market downturn.

According to our technical analysis, which you can read here, Investors should monitor for a breakout or breakdown from an ascending channel on the gold chart, which will likely provide clues about the precious metal’s next move.

A breakdown from the pattern could see the gold price revisit support at $2,200 and $2,085, while a breakout could see price targets met at $2,675 and $2,770.

Gold futures were up 1.4% at around $2,465 in recent trading.

–Timothy Smith

Bumble Tumbles to All-Time Low

12 hr 17 min ago

Shares of Bumble (BMBL) plunged to their all-time low Thursday after the online dating service slashed its guidance as customers spent less on it.

The company that operates the eponymous app now expects full-year revenue to rise 1% to 2% year-over-year, compared with its earlier forecast of 8% to 11%, and app revenue to rise 1.5% to 2.5%, down from 9% to 11%. 

In the second quarter, total paying users climbed 14% to 4.1 million but the total average revenue per paying user fell 8.0% to $21.37.

The company’s second-quarter revenue of $268.6 million fell short of expectations, while earnings per share of $0.22 were better than anticipated. 

Bumble shares hit an all-time low Thursday morning and were down 30% in recent trading.

–Bill McColl

Under Armour Jumps 20% as Restructuring Takes Shape

13 hr 1 min ago

Under Armour (UAA) shares popped Thursday following the company’s first-quarter fiscal 2025 results, its first since announcing a substantial restructuring plan.

The athletic apparel retailer said it has recognized $34 million of the estimated $70 to $90 million in charges related to the restructuring, with the remainder expected to occur in fiscal 2025. Notably, the process has included a drawback in promotional material. 

Under Armour reported revenue of $1.18 billion, down 10% year-over-year but above analysts’ expectations. Adjusted profit of 1 cent per share also came in better than anticipated.

Under Armour said it expects fiscal 2025 revenue to fall at a low double-digit percentage rate, and an adjusted per-share profit of 19 cents to 22 cents. The forecasts are in line with analysts’ expectations.

Under Armour shares were up 19.5% in recent trading at their highest level since March.

–Andrew Kessel

Chip Stocks Leading Thursday’s Rally

13 hr 42 min ago

Gains for tech stocks are pushing the market higher Thursday, led by sharp increases by Nvidia (NVDA) and other chipmakers.

Nvidia, Intel (INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) were all up more than 4% in late-morning trading. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) was up more than 5%, as chip stocks rose across the board.

Over the last week, the ETF had come under increasing pressure amid the broader market’s downturn. Disappointing earnings from Intel and reports that Nvidia’s highly anticipated Blackwell chips would be delayed by at least three months also weighed on sentiment.

Amid the recovery Thursday, keep an eye on the $215 and $239 price levels, where SOXX may run into overhead resistance.

Read our technical analysis here.

–Timothy Smith

Expectations for Big Fed Rate Cuts Moderate

14 hr 20 min ago

The market meltdown on Monday that sent U.S. stock indexes to their biggest one-day losses in two years also led market participants to price in nearly a 100% chance that the Fed would cut its benchmark lending rate by half a percentage point at its next policy committee meeting in September.

With Thursday’s jobless claims data indicating that the economic fears that sparked Monday’s selloff may have been overblown, expectations for steep rate cuts in September and beyond are being scaled back.

Traders are now pricing in a 55% likelihood that the Fed will cut its influential rate by half a point at its September policy meeting, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which forecasts interest rate movements based on fed funds futures trading data. That’s still up from the 22% a week ago, but down from the 99% chance that was being priced in at the height of Monday’s volatility.

The Fed’s policy committee decided last week to maintain the fed funds rate at a range of 5.25% to 5.50%, where it has been for the past year as the central bank has sought to tame inflation. With inflation on the decline and stress in the labor market, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last week that the Fed could start cutting rates, which are at their highest level since 2001, as soon as September.

Warner Bros. Discovery Shares Plunge on Weak Earnings

15 hr 2 min ago

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shares plunged Thursday after the entertainment company recorded an almost $10 billion second-quarter loss, hit by a write-down in the value of its cable networks.

The company posted a $9.1 billion non-cash goodwill impairment charge from its cable networks segment, showing that CNN and TNT, among others, continue to be disrupted by streaming services like Netflix (NFLX).

The company’s fortunes don’t look much brighter, either, after its TNT Sports unit last month lost out on the lucrative 11-year media rights deal to show NBA games.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s second-quarter loss widened to $9.99 billion from $1.24 billion last year, while revenue fell to $9.71 billion from $10.36 billion. The numbers were worse than expected on both the top and bottom lines.

WBD shares were down 10%, trading at their lowest levels since 2008.

–Nisha Gopalan

Eli Lilly Soars on Strength of Weight-Loss Drug Sales

15 hr 31 min ago

Eli Lilly (LLY) shares surged higher in early trading Thursday after the drugmaker’s second-quarter earnings came in well above analysts’ estimates and it raised its full-year revenue and profit guidance.

The maker of weight-loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound reported $11.3 billion in revenue, a 36% year-over-year jump and more than $1 billion above what analysts had expected. Profits rose 68% to $2.97 billion, also well above estimates.

Sales of Mounjaro more than tripled to $3.09 billion, while Zepbound sales have already surpassed $1 billion after only receiving FDA approval in November 2023.

Eli Lilly lifted its 2024 revenue guidance by $3 billion, now projecting $45.4 billion to $46.6 billion on the back of strong Mounjaro and Zepbound sales.

Eli Lilly shares were up nearly 9% in recent trading.

–Aaron McDade

Stock Futures Point to Higher Open for Major indexes

16 hr 38 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.5%.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.8%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were up 1.2%