Stock Market Today: Live Updates

Stock markets rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 hitting a record high.

The broader market index rose 0.68%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 249 points, or 0.58%.

-Brian Evans

A batch of economic data came out Thursday morning that came in at or slightly better than market expectations, reinforcing the idea that the overall picture for the United States is stable:

Initial jobless claims for the week ended Sept. 21 totaled 218,000, down 4,000 from the prior week and slightly better than the Dow Jones estimate of 223,000. Continuing claims, which were delayed a week, rose to 1.834 million, slightly below FactSet’s forecast. Orders for long-term “durable goods” such as aircraft, appliances and computers were little changed in August, better than estimates for a 3% decline. Gross domestic product rose at a 3% annual rate in the second quarter, according to the latest of three readings from the Commerce Department. That was in line with market expectations.

—Jeff Cox

Find out which companies made headlines before the bell.

Starbucks — Shares of the coffee chain rose more than 2% after Bernstein upgraded the stock to outperform. The company is bullish on new CEO Brian Niccol, who took over on Sept. 9.

New York Community Bancorp – Shares of the regional lender rose more than 4% after Barclays upgraded its stock to overweight as part of a repositioning of the stock after a tough period.

Micron Technology, Chip Stocks — Shares of Micron surged about 17% after it delivered a stronger-than-expected revenue outlook for its fiscal first quarter. Other chip stocks also rose in tandem Thursday morning. Nvidia shares rose 2%, while U.S.-traded ASML Holding added about 5%.

— Hakyung Kim

The Federal Reserve's rate-cutting cycle is expected to be positive for U.S. stocks and the domestic economy, according to the Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

“We expect this series of rate cuts to help ignite broader market opportunities next year,” Scott Renn, the firm’s chief global market strategist, said in a note to clients on Wednesday. “While we look for the economy to slow to a more moderate pace by year-end, our base case does not include a recession.”

According to Ren, central banks could cut interest rates by 200 basis points or more between now and the end of next year. Under such a scenario, the strategist said he still favors large-cap domestic stocks over riskier small-caps and U.S. stocks over international stocks. Internationally, he favors developed international companies over emerging markets.

Ren added that even with his current views, he is aware of potential risks to U.S. economic growth such as the upcoming presidential election and rising tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine.

— Pia Singh

Piper Sandler said some of the trade policy provisions proposed by former President Donald Trump, such as imposing large tariffs on Chinese imports, could ultimately fuel inflation.

“Trump’s trade policies will lead to higher inflation and slower economic growth, but tariffs are likely to focus more on intermediate goods rather than consumer products,” analyst Andy Laperriere wrote on Thursday.

“Harris’s (tax) policies, by allowing the 2017 tax reforms to expire and seeking to expand the child tax credit (among other safety net expansions), would hurt higher-income consumers and be a tailwind for lower- and middle-income consumers,” the analyst added.

-Brian Evans

Chinese stock exchange-traded funds rose in premarket trading after officials held a meeting to emphasize government efforts to stimulate the Chinese economy. iShares China Large-Value ETF (FXI) And the iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI) They each jumped more than 6%.

“China continues to dominate headlines with its stimulus measures,” JPMorgan traders wrote. “In the near term, the tactical rally may continue as (1) the magnitude of the current rally is only
(2) The wave of positive news is likely to continue over the next month as more easing policy announcements are pumped into the market.

— Fred Imbert

European stocks rose sharply at the open on Thursday, helped by gains in Asia-Pacific markets overnight.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose about 1% in early morning trade, with almost all sectors in positive territory.

— Sam Meredith

The odds may be against you. Nvidia When it comes to investing, according to Aswath Damodaran of New York University.

“With Nvidia, the odds are against you because of the high price you’re paying,” the “dean of valuation” told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Wednesday. Nvidia shares rose more than 2% during Wednesday’s session to a closing price of $123.51, surpassing $3 trillion in market cap.

“Nvidia is the best option in any direction,” he said, because it has nothing to do with fundamentals or business case. “If I’m a trader, I can understand why Nvidia is where it is, but as an investor, I think the worst case scenario is with Nvidia.”

Ultimately, Damodaran believes, expectations for everyone's favorite chip company need to be reset.

“I’ve priced this company as the most amazing company ever,” he said. “Where’s the upside? If the company is just amazing instead of the most amazing company, that’s disappointing, so I think that’s something you’re going to see go back and forth in terms of expectations.”

— Sean Conlon

These are the most moving stocks in extended trading hours:

Micron Technology — Shares of the semiconductor maker rose 13% after issuing strong guidance for the current quarter. H.B. Fuller — Shares of the adhesives company fell about 10%. H.B. Fuller reported adjusted earnings of $1.13 per share in the fiscal third quarter on revenue of $918 million. Concentrix — Shares fell 14%. The customer experience solutions company reported adjusted earnings of $2.87 per share for the fiscal third quarter, compared with analysts’ expectations of $2.93 per share, according to FactSet.

Read the full list of moving stocks here.

—Lisa Kailai Hahn