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S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 post record closing highs as nearly everything rallies

The benchmark US stock index ended up 0.9%, the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.6%, and the Russell 2000 outperformed with a 1.8% gain.

Nia Warfield, Luke Kawa

Some disappointing US economic data didn’t stop the buying on Thursday.

A jump in initial jobless claims and slightly firmer-than-expected inflation were easy hurdles for bulls, who sent the overwhelming majority of the S&P 500 upward on Thursday.

The benchmark US stock index ended up 0.9%, the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.6%, and the Russell 2000 outperformed with a 1.8% gain.

The number of advancers in the S&P 500 outnumbered decliners by 372, the most positive tilt since May 27.

Six S&P 500 sector ETFs rose more than 1%, with materials leading the way higher. Energy was the lone sector ETF in the red, and just barely at that.

Gains on the day were led by Warner Bros. Discovery, which soared almost 29% after The Wall Street Journal reported that Paramount Skydance was preparing an all-cash takeover bid for the media juggernaut. Declines were led by Oracle, which fell 6.3% — not a huge deal given the stock had a massive run on Wednesday after the cloud giant unveiled its massive multiyear sales pipeline. Elsewhere...

Opendoor Technologies spiked nearly 79% after the online real estate company announced that cofounders Keith Rabois and Eric Wu were being added to its board of directors, with Shopify COO Kaz Nejatian joining to be its new CEO.

Tempus AI rose 13.7% after the diagnostics company announced FDA clearance for a new AI-enabled tool to analyze cardiac imagery from MRIs.

Micron jumped 7.5% after Citi boosted its price target to $175 from $150.

Centene soared 9.1% after the health insurer reaffirmed its full-year earnings guidance ahead of the Deutsche Bank 2025 Healthcare Summit this week and offered positive commentary on Medicare enrollee trends.

Shares of Jeep and Dodge maker Stellantis climbed 9.5% after new CEO Antonio Filosa gave upbeat comments at a European auto conference.

Duolingo rose 8.2% after an analyst note painted a more optimistic picture of the gamified language-learning company despite a lack of fresh news.

Hims & Hers gained 8.3% after the telehealth company announced that it had expanded into testosterone treatments on Wednesday.

Delta Air Lines dipped 1.6% even after the airline boosted its third-quarter sales forecast.

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Lululemon’s stretch getting tested: Stock plunges after after outlook is cut

Lululemon shares are down double digits in premarket trading after the company cut its full-year sales and profit outlook, overshadowing a Q1 beat and raising fresh concerns about the brand’s turnaround efforts.

The company now expects fiscal 2026 revenue to be flat to down 1%, compared with its prior forecast for 2% to 4% growth. Guidance for full-year diluted earnings per share was dragged down to a range of $10.95 to $11.15, below the company’s previous guidance of $12.10 to $12.30 and well below Wall Street’s estimate of $13.26.

Key numbers for Q1:

  • EPS of $1.69 vs. the $1.68 expected.

  • Revenue of $2.47 billion vs. the $2.43 billion expected.

The modest top-line beat masked a widening divergence between Lululemons geographic markets. While international revenue rose 22% overall with a 30% increase in Mainland China, the bigger problem remains North America, where revenue fell 5%.

Interim co-CEO and CFO Meghan Frank acknowledged during the earnings call that recent product rollouts underperformed. A highly anticipated yoga campaign failed to generate its expected halo effect across broader product lines.

Profitability metrics took a major hit, with gross margins contracting by 410 basis points to 54.2% due to mounting tariff costs and promotional markdowns. Operating income consequently fell 37% year over year to $276.9 million.

“We experienced spikes of negative commentary in the media and on social channels with regard to our brand, which had an impact on traffic and overall top-line performance,” Frank said during the earnings call. “And second, not all of our product launches have met our expectations. While we have had several successful launches so far this year, we have seen others as we start Q2 not generate the anticipated guest response.”

Lululemons valuation has already been steadily compressing for years. While it was once one of retails richly valued stocks, investors have been questioning whether the company can return to the double-digit growth era.

The results also arrive during a leadership transition. Lululemon announced back in April that former Nike executive Heidi ONeill is set to take over as CEO in September, with investors looking to her to revive growth in North America and restore the brands growth.

As Lululemon faces both macroeconomic pressure and brand-specific challenges, its stock has dropped around 40% year to date.

markets

US job growth skyrocketed in May, blasting past expectations

The US economy added 172,000 jobs in the month of May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, sending 10-year Treasury yields higher.

The strong May job market surprised economists. Experts had predicted only 85,000 new jobs — just half the reported number. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, as expected.

The job growth story is a hopeful spot for the economy as consumers continue to feel inflationary pressure from the Iran war.

Job gains were buoyed by the leisure and hospitality sector, which added 70,000 jobs, as well as local government, healthcare, and education.

Both the March and April jobs reports were revised upward, making them collectively 93,000 higher than previously reported.

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