Just a little higher. (Ryan Suherlan/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

S&P 500 reaches toward 6,000 as stocks hit new highs

It’s quietly been another stellar year for stocks.

10/9/24 4:29PM

Stocks poised to benefit from the continued strength of the US economy drove major market indexes to new highs Wednesday, with the S&P 500 notching another record high at close.

Parts of the market made up of such “cyclical” stocks — so-named because their prices mirror the ups and downs of the economic cycle more than others — led the gains.

It stands to reason. You can’t swing a dead cat without striking a piece of favorable economic news lately. The job market is good. Corporate profits are at a record. The Fed has started cutting interest rates. And inflation is cooling, with analysts expecting the headline consumer price index for September — set to be announced tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. ET — to hit 2.3%, the lowest since early 2021.

Financial bellwethers Visa, Mastercard, and JPMorgan Chase (which kicks off earnings season with other banks Friday) helped make the financial sector of the S&P 500 the top-performing part of the index by early afternoon Wednesday, while tech giants Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon were the biggest contributors to day’s gains for the S&P, according to FactSet data.

Overall, the tech-heavy Nasdaq component lagged on the day, due in part to a sell-off in Alphabet shares after the Department of Justice suggested a breakup of the company could be part of the legal remedies after a federal judged deemed its search monopoly illegal. Google was the single biggest drag on the market today, per FactSet.

Shares of defensive stocks, such as utilities, where investors tend to hunker down during tough economic times, were the worst-performing part of the S&P 500.

Taking a step back, it’s worth noting that it’s quietly turned into a pretty great year for the stock market, with the S&P 500 up more than 21% in 2024. In fact, since 2022, when inflation — and Fed rate hikes — crushed the markets and sent the S&P 500 down nearly 19.5%, the blue chip index is up over 50%.

The ride has pushed the next big, round number firmly into view for investors, with the S&P 500 now inching closer to the never-before-seen level of 6,000, which would be a nice, juicy target for Wall Street as we push toward the end of the year.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).
Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

S&P 500 reaches toward 6,000 as stocks hit new highs

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

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