The
Dow Jones Industrial Average scaled to a record high on Thursday as investors reacted to a weaker-than-expected nonfarm payrolls report for June, while the Nasdaq Composite languished as semiconductors struggled once again.
The 30-stock average added 594 points, or 1.1%. The index hit a new all-time intraday high of 52.805.12. The
S&P 500 traded 0.01% lower, while the Nasdaq dropped 0.8%.
Semiconductors fell for a second day in a row, weighing on the latter two benchmarks. The
VanEck Semiconductor (SMH) ETF dropped 5.2%, led by 13% declines in Teradyne and KLA. Nvidia shares also pulled back 2.1%, while Micron lost 6%.
"This is a rotation potentially out of a sector that's been red hot for the last few months and into other areas, but I also do think that there's a little bit of a revaluation of the AI trade in itself," said Anshul Sharma, chief investment officer at Savvy Wealth. "If companies are more sensitive to the cost of compute, is that going to be the next area that they're going to focus on?"
The major averages are on track to finish the holiday-shortened week with solid gains. The broad-based S&P 500 is pacing for a more than 1.8% gain, while the 30-stock Dow and tech-heavy Nasdaq are heading for a jump of more than 1.7% and more than 2.4%, respectively.
The June jobs report showed an increase of 57,000 last month, below the 115,000 jobs that economists polled by Dow Jones expected. The unemployment rate, however, dropped to 4.2%. Economists had forecast the rate to stay at 4.3%.
"As we are learning how the Fed reaction function will form under [Fed Chairman Kevin] Warsh, this print takes some of the pressure off of the inflation fighting institution to hike near term," said Bradford Smith, portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors.
"That said, Warsh commented at his first presser that jobs data only becomes meaningful after the third revision and by then becomes 'echoes of history,'" he continued. "With oil price inflation moderating, some softness on the jobs front likely keeps the Fed on hold at least for the next meeting."
Netflix shares pop 5%, head for best day since Feb. 27
Shares of
Netflix jumped 5% in Thursday afternoon's trading.
Though the driver of the streaming giant's rally wasn't immediately clear, the jump in shares made it a notable outperformer within the Nasdaq-100 as the tech-heavy index sold off about 2%.
The stock is on pace for its best day since Feb. 27.
Netflix is also tracking for a gain of 5.6% in the holiday-shortened week.
—Darla Mercado
KeyBanc initiates Waystar at overweight
KeyBanc initiated coverage on
Waystar at overweight with a price target of $30 — implying a 40% upside from Wednesday's close.
Analyst Scott Schoenhaus found that Waystar has continued to invest in its AI capabilities and products, despite concerns about AI disruption. Schoenhaus also surveyed top hospital executives and found that those who have switched to the healthcare tech company are satisfied with their service.
"25% of respondents now use WAY after switching from Change Healthcare. Of these, 75% of respondents are very satisfied with their new vendor's services/platform," the analyst said in a note to clients on Thursday. "Additionally, it is clear that our respondents are focused on deploying AI across their HC systems, which should bode well for WAY given its suite of AI product offerings."
Waystar Holding has fallen 29% this year — underperforming compared to the S&P 500.
— Assiatou Hann
Meta should focus on its own business instead of renting its computing power, JPMorgan says
But JPMorgan is cautioning against the move, saying it would prefer that Meta boost its own capabilities on query response – also called "inference" – to develop its advertising business.
"We'd much prefer that Meta develop core AI products, leverage them over its base of around 4 billion users, and require massive compute for its own inference rather than selling access to its infrastructure," analyst Doug Anmuth wrote note to clients.
– Tobias Burns
Tesla sinks as much as 7.3% Thursday after posting strong delivery report
Tesla shares sank as much as 7.3% Thursday after the electrical vehicle maker reported second-quarter delivery and production levels far above Wall Street expectations, as Elon Musk's automaker tries to rebound from consecutive annual declines in auto sales.
Tesla had rallied more than 13% over the four days prior to the latest report.
Second-quarter vehicle deliveries reached 480,126 against Wall Street estimates of 406,600, according to analysts surveyed by StreetAccount. Production reached 451,758 units.
William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer reiterated a market perform rating on Tesla in reaction, saying "energy storage deployments of 13.5 GWh were in line with Street consensus and a recovery from last quarter's 8.8 GWh, but still came in below our estimate of 20.6 GWh."
— Scott Schnipper, Lora Kolodny
European stocks close higher
European markets ended provisionally higher on Thursday, with major bourses and most sectors in positive territory.
The regional
Stoxx 600 was 1.4% higher by the end of the trading session. London's FTSE 100 was up 1.7%, and France's CAC 40 was 1.65% higher. The German DAX was up 2%, and Italy's FTSE MIB ended 1.6% higher.
Most regional sectors were in the green, but the Stoxx 600 tech index declined nearly 2.4% by the market's close.
— Sawdah Bhaimiya
Memory ETF heading for worst week since its inception
The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) was pacing as of midday Thursday to end the shortened trading week down almost 15%.
DRAM, which launched early in the second quarter right as the rally in memory stocks started taking off, at its closing high in late June had nearly triple from its initial closing levels on April 2.
Micron was off 4% on Thursday, tracking to end the week down more than 12%. Sandisk was falling more than 11%, and its two-day decline now totals more than 20%.
— Davis Giangiulio
70% of active managers beat the market in June, Jefferies says
After a rough start to the year, June proved to be a turnaround month for active managers.
"June was a much better month for active managers down cap, thanks to a change in market leadership and better market breadth," Jefferies strategist Steven DeSanctis wrote.
He noted that 70% of managers were able to beat the market and the figure was even stronger in small caps, where nearly 88% of managers outperformed.
Things improved in the month as high-beta stocks weakened in June, aiding active managers as the non-earners, highest-beta names, lowest returns on equity, and highest sales growth names all underperformed.
DeSanctis said small core managers have continued to struggle since the April "Liberation Day" low, lagging their benchmark by more than 1,450 basis points. The bright spots, he added, are mid-growth managers, as they managed to beat the index by 100 bps.
— Deena Zaidi
Dow hits new all-time high
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose a fresh record intraday high on Thursday.
The blue-chip index gained almost 1% in morning trading to reach a high of 52,802.97. Week to date, the index has now risen nearly 2%.
— Sean Conlon
Bank of America’s Savita Subramanian says it is 'hard to be bearish on America'
Savita Subramanian, head of U.S. equity and quantitative strategy at Bank of America Securities, said the U.S. economy looks healthy and investors may need to look beyond the market's biggest tech stocks for the next leg of gains.
"I think the index itself looks a little bit fraught in terms of just supply coming online, demand maybe kind of pausing for a moment, but I think the economy is really the bright spot, and corporate earnings are actually gangbusters this year," Subramanian told 'Squawk Box'.
Pointing to the strong economic growth, she said, "It's hard to be bearish on America right now." She added that hyperscalers are providing a sort of stability when it comes to capex.
A really good spot in terms of corporate earnings, she said, was the more GDP-sensitive companies in the S&P 500. She remains bullish and added that preferred investment focus should be on the cyclical companies over the next few years, which include GDP-sensitive companies in the industrials, energy and materials sectors since they stand to benefit from the country's GDP growth.
Energy remained one of the more compelling areas, according to Subramanian.
Pointing towards the oil companies, she said, "It does not necessarily mean just buy oil as a hedge against geopolitical risk, it's really the idea that oil just looks like it's undervalued. These energy companies have capital discipline; they're not spending at a really rapid clip. They're more focused on cash return, and I think the cash return and dividends are really important to look at right now, because we've got retirees still sitting on a lot of cash."
— Deena Zaidi
Stocks open higher
The three major averages began Thursday's session in the green.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 275 points, or 0.5%, just after the opening bell. The S&P 500 gained 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.1%.
— Sean Conlon
Tesla vehicle deliveries come in above expectations
Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla reported better-than-expected vehicle deliveries for the second quarter.
Tesla delivered 480,126 vehicles, above expectations for 406,600, according to analysts polled by StreetAccount. The figure is above the 384,000 deliveries that Tesla reported in the second quarter of 2025.
Shares of Tesla were higher premarket, rising by about 1%.
Read more
here.
— Lora Kolodny and Davis Giangiulio
U.S. economy added 57,000 jobs in June
The U.S. economy added
57,000 jobs in June, well below the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 115,000. The unemployment rate, however, dipped to 4.2% from 4.3%.
— Fred Imbert
Alphabet, Bending Spoons and AeroVironment among the stocks making moves before the bell
Check out the companies making the biggest moves premarket:
Alphabet— The parent company of Google was lower by 1% after the subsidiary lost a European antitrust case, where a court upheld Google's fine of 4.1 billion euros ($4.67 billion). The fine comes from a 2018 decision by the European Commission to punish Google for what it saw as anticompetitive practices by the company through giving its own applications unfair advantages in Android products. Bending Spoons— Shares of the Italian technology company were off 7% after its public market debut on Wednesday. The stock soared almost 40% from its IPO level on Wednesday. AeroVironment— The defense technology company rose 4% after it won a $500 million contract with the U.S. Army. The contract is to develop counter-drone capabilities to the military.
Read the full list
here.
— Davis Giangiulio
Citi expects June jobs report to show an increase of just 25,000
The upcoming jobs report on Thursday morning could come in well below expectations.
Andrew Hollenhorst, Citi's chief U.S. economist, forecasts that the report will show an increase of 25,000 new jobs last month. However, he anticipates the unemployment rate will remain unchanged at 4.3%.
Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the report to show that 115,000 jobs were added in June, with the unemployment rate staying at 4.3%.
"Softer labor market data over the next several months is a key driver of our view that the Fed will return to cutting policy rates later this year," Hollenhorst wrote in a Thursday note.
— Sean Conlon
Palantir rises after upgrade
Palantir shares were up 4% after D.A. Davidson upgraded the AI software and defense company to buy from neutral. Analyst Gil Luria cited competitive advantages for the company as well as an attractive valuation for the stock.
Read the full story
here.
— Fred Imbert
Alphabet shares fall more than 1%
Shares of Alphabet were 1.2% lower shortly before 6 a.m. ET, after the Google parent company
lost its appeal against a record 4.1-billion-euro ($4.67 billion) fine relating to competition rules in Europe.
In 2018, the European Commission slapped Google with the record-breaking penalty, accusing it of abusing Android's mobile dominance to give unfair advantage to its own apps via pre-installation deals with smartphone makers.
Google has been appealing the ruling through the EU court system. But the European Court of Justice, Europe's top court, dismissed the appeal on Thursday.
— Arjun Kharpal and Chloe Taylor
Oil prices on track for fourth straight weekly loss
Oil prices fell on Thursday as investors weighed signs of progress in indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, easing concerns about potential disruptions to crude supplies in the Middle East.
International benchmark
Brent crude futures with September delivery dipped 1.1% to $70.82 per barrel, paring earlier losses after touching its lowest level since Feb. 27.
The contract is on pace for its third straight negative session as well as its fourth consecutive weekly loss for the first time in nearly two years.
U.S.
West Texas Intermediate futures with August delivery were last seen trading 1% lower at $67.88, on track for its fourth straight negative week for the first time since early March last year.
— Sam Meredith and Lee Ying Shan
South Korea's Kospi plunges nearly 8% to lowest close since June 8, leads losses in Asia
South Korea's Kospi led losses in Asia, falling 7.89% to end the session at 7,648.09, its lowest close since June 8. The small-cap Kosdaq dropped 6.74% to 866.72. Index heavyweight Samsung fell 9.06% to 286,000 while SK Hynix plunged 14.57% to 2,187,000.
Japan's
Nikkei 225 declined 2.47% to 68,733.15, while the Topix inched up 0.09% to 4,014.98. Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was flat at 8,724.50.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.58%, while the CSI 300 was down nearly 3% to 4,812.3.
— Justina Lee
European stocks open lower
The pan-European
Stoxx 600 was 0.1% lower shortly after the opening bell in Europe, with most sectors and major regional bourses in negative territory.
— Chloe Taylor
U.S. Treasury yields rise
U.S. Treasury yields edged higher on Thursday, as investors looked ahead to key jobs data that could influence the Federal Reserve's decisions.
Traders are awaiting the June non-farm payrolls report, which is being released a day early due to Friday's Independence Day holiday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the U.S. to have added 115,000 jobs last month.
Read the latest on Treasurys
here.
— Chloe Taylor
Tank maker KNDS postpones IPO as defense stocks struggle
Franco-German tank maker KNDS is postponing its highly anticipated public listing in Paris and Frankfurt until market conditions improve, following a slump in defense stocks.
"In light of current market volatility for the European Defense sector, KNDS... announces that its shareholders have informed the Company of their intention to resume the Initial Public Offering ("IPO") process upon the return of more favorable market conditions," KNDS said in a statement.
It comes after the Financial Times
reported the defense equipment maker was struggling to convince investors to back a valuation of more than 12 billion euros ($13.7 billion).
Read the full story
here.
— Elsa Ohlen
Gold and silver tick higher
Spot gold and silver prices edged higher early Thursday, extending gains from the previous session that hinted at a tentative recovery from a losing quarter.
Gold saw its
worst quarter in 13 years in three months to the end of June, as investors reacted to a more hawkish tone from the Federal Reserve.
— Chloe Taylor
Shares of BYD and Xiaomi rise as June delivery figures buoy optimism
Xiaomi reported its third consecutive month of having over 30,000 deliveries in June. Meanwhile, BYD posted a vehicle sales volume of 403,472 units in June, up 5.46% from 382,585 units in the same period a year ago.
Read the full story
here.
— Justina Lee
Oil falls as easing Middle East tensions send Brent to its worst quarter since 2020
Oil prices fell on Thursday as investors weighed signs of progress in indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran, easing concerns about potential disruptions to crude supplies in the Middle East.
Brent has fallen nearly 40% this quarter, marking its worst quarterly performance since 2020, according to LSEG data.
The decline also came after U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that negotiations with Iran in Qatar were "going well."
"The denuclearization of Iran is moving along well," Trump said. "They've had very good meetings and we'll see."
— Lee Ying Shan
South Korea's Hanwha Ocean jumps 12% after being named preferred bidder for destroyer contract
South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean climbed as much as 12.2% on Thursday after the company was selected as the preferred bidder for South Korea's KDDX destroyer program.
In a regulatory filing, Hanwha Ocean said that it was selected for the design and construction of the lead ship, with the contract amount and contract period to be finalized after consultation. The media outlet Chosun Ilbo reported that the KDDX program was a 7.8 trillion won initiative to build six destroyers for the South Korean navy.
— Lim Hui Jie
Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix shares tumble over 7% as chip rout spreads from Wall Street
Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix plummeted more than 7% in early Thursday trading, dragging down South Korea's benchmark
Kospi after the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped overnight.
Samsung Electronics tumbled more than 7% while SK Hynix sank over 9% at the open, wiping out billions in market value as Asia's largest chipmakers bore the brunt of the global tech selloff.
SK Square, the largest shareholder of SK Hynix, also fell more than 10%, mirroring broader losses across the semiconductor sector.
The selloff tracks a dismal start to July for the
Nasdaq as investors aggressively dumped chip stocks.
Read the full story
here.
— Jenny Lee
Shares of Kioxia fell more than 13% amid broader losses in other Asian tech stocks
Shares of
Kioxia fell by around 10% amid broad losses in other Asian tech stocks, following profit-taking by investors in U.S. markets.
The Japanese semiconductor manufacturer recently said it plans to offer U.S. depositary receipts between April and June 2027 amid growing demand for storage systems as demand for artificial intelligence-linked products expands.
Kioxia is one of the world's largest producers of flash memory and was spun off from conglomerate Toshiba in 2018. It currently has 22 subsidiaries and six affiliated companies in Japan and overseas.
— Justina Lee
South Korea inflation hits highest level in more than 2 years, bolstering case for rate hike
South Korea's inflation rate in June hit 3.2%, its highest level since December 2023.
The reading was in line with expectations from Reuters-pollled economists and was also the fourth straight month of accelerating inflation.
The reading strengthens the case for a rate hike by the Bank of Korea, which will have its next meeting on July 16.
— Lim Hui Jie
South Korea's Kospi tumbles more than 5% at the open, triggering trading halt
Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly lower early Thursday, with South Korea's Kospi leading losses.
The
Kospi dropped 5.36% at the open, prompting the Korean Exchange to temporarily halt trading for five minutes to curb volatility. The small-cap Kosdaq dropped 3.55%.
Japan's
Nikkei 225 declined 0.70%, while the Topix inched up 0.13%.
Australia's benchmark
S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.59%.
— Justina Lee
Asia-Pacific markets set to open broadly lower, tracking U.S. stocks
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mostly lower on Thursday, tracking losses on Wall Street as investors took profits in semiconductor stocks.
Japan's
Nikkei 225 was poised to decline, with the Chicago futures contract at 69,750 and its Osaka counterpart last trading at 69,610, compared with the index's previous close of 70,474.96.
Hong Kong's
Hang Seng index was set to open higher after returning from a public holiday. Futures traded at 22,990, compared with the index's last close of 22,881.02.
In Australia, futures last traded at 8,687, while the
S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,722.90.
Developments in the Middle East remain in focus, after President
Donald Trump said the talks between the U.S. and Iran in Qatar were progressing well.
"As far as things are going, the denuclearization of Iran is moving along well," Trump told reporters. "They've had very good meetings and we'll see."
— Justina Lee
'Mag7' declines are a healthy pullback, says Wells Fargo
The declines in the "Magnificent Seven" should be treated as a buying opportunity, according to Darrell Cronk, president for Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
"I'd characterize the recent pullback as a healthy reset, not a structural break—but it's exposing some important shifts in how the market is thinking about Big Tech. AI is moving from excitement to scrutiny. A shift from build at any cost to prove the ROI narrative. We remain favorable on the sector despite the recent pullback but would be more selective."
— Fred Imbert
Treasury Department unveils Trump Account investment options
The Treasury Department announced the menu of eligible investment options for Trump Accounts on Wednesday afternoon.
The accounts, which are
set to launch on July 4, provide a tax-advantaged way for children under 18 to invest for long-term goals, namely retirement.
Babies born between 2025 and 2028 will receive $1,000 in seed money from the Treasury after a parent or guardian opens a Trump Account on their behalf. After that, families can kick in up to $5,000 a year.
Treasury said that at launch, all contributions will be invested in the
State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM).
The Treasury Department also added four other ETFs to the Trump Accounts investment menu: the
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV); the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI); the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF (SPTM); and the iShares Core S&P total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT).
News of the investment options, which aim to provide low-cost broad exposure to stocks, comes as artificial intelligence continues to propel market returns.
— Darla Mercado
U.S. won’t renew USMCA
The Trump administration has decided not to renew its
trilateral trade pact with Canada and Mexico, instead opting to conduct annual reviews of the treaty that President Donald Trump once called "the best agreement we've ever made."
The widely anticipated decision on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, known as USMCA, was revealed Wednesday, the deadline for the three North American trade partners to determine whether they would renew their agreement for another 16-year term.
Read more
here.
— Kevin Breuninger
Stock futures open near the flatline
U.S. stock futures traded near the flatline on Wednesday evening.
Futures tied to the Dow Industrials were down 79 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures were off 0.1%, as were Nasdaq 100 futures.
— Fred Imbert
<small>Source: CNBC</small>
