Stock market today: S&P 500 snaps 3-day losing streak as Tesla surges 22%
US stocks closed mixed Thursday, though the S&P 500 was able to push higher after three days of losses.
The benchmark index snapped a losing streak, closing 0.2% higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, continued its slump for a fourth day and lost 140 points in the session, dragged down by subpar earnings from IBM.
The mixed results come as Tesla finished up its best day in over a decade, closing 22% higher at $260.48 per share after a strong earnings beat on Wednesday.
The automaker reported earnings per share of $0.62, easily outpacing analysts’ expectations of $0.51. Its operating profit also exceeded expectations, up 54% from a year ago to $2.7 billion, while analysts expected $2.0 billion.
The company also gave strong forward-looking commentary, saying its plans for new vehicles are on track to begin production in the first half of next year.
“TSLA 3Q24 results and commentary were better than expected and should give bulls hope that Tesla is past the nadir on profitability and that (near- to mid-term) growth concerns are alleviated,” UBS analysts said in a Wednesday note.
Some analysts, though, remain cautious that the strong earnings will be sustainable in future quarters.
“We expect this surprising earnings beat to power a strong positive reaction in Tesla shares Thursday, given the degree to which investors have become conditioned to earnings misses from the company; however, we at the same time see several potentially unsustainable drivers of 3Q’s better earnings and cash flow performance,” JPMorgan analysts said in a Thursday note.
UPS shares jumped more that 5% in the session on strong quarterly results that showed a jump in earnings and revenue for the first time in a year. The stock ended the day at $138.37.
Also on Thursday, investors digested a surprise fall in jobless claims, down 15,000 from the week before to 227,000. Consensus estimates had expected 242,000.
Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Thursday:
- S&P 500: 5,809.86, up 0.21%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 42,374.36, down 0.33% (-140.59 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 18,415.49, up 0.76%
Here’s what else is going on:
- Millennials are hoarding cash. That’s a big financial mistake.
- A contested election is an underpriced risk to markets.
- The “whale” placing huge bets on a Trump win is a French national with extensive trading experience, Polymarket confirmed.
- Rising prospects of a Trump win and huge tariffs sparked the worst sell-off for emerging market stocks in 10 months.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- Oil futures fell slightly. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.37% to $70.51 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 0.32% to $74.73 a barrel.
- Gold rose 0.7% to $2,747.60 an ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield was about flat at 4.21%.
- Bitcoin rose 3% to $68.192.
