Markets
Yiwen Lu

Stocks hit fresh record on more China stimulus, solid data


The S&P 500 closed up 0.4% on Thursday, posting another record high close. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.7%. The Russell 2000 advanced 0.6%.

China ramped up pledges to support the economy and property sector, resulting in a rally among China stocks. The CSI 300 index, which tracks the performance of the top 300 Shanghai and Shenzhen stocks, is up over 10% so far this week. If that holds, it would be the index’s biggest weekly gain since December 2014. Prices on copper and steel rose. 

The materials sector was the best-performing S&P 500 sector ETF, up 2.1%.

Conversely, the energy sector lost 2%. Several oil stocks, including Diamondback Energy and Oneok, registered substantial drops. The Financial Times reported earlier that Saudi Arabia is willing to accept lower prices for crude oil as it and other OPEC+ nations return more barrels to the market. As a result, WTI crude for November delivery settled down 2.9%, while November Brent crude dropped 2.5%.

Meanwhile, US data showed favorable economic conditions persist. Weekly jobless claims fell from last week, while a third estimate of second quarter GDP stayed at 3%, meeting expectations. Treasury yields gained. The US dollar was briefly up in the morning but still slid.

Among individual movers, Micron led S&P 500 stocks, up 14.8%, after the chipmaker reported better-than-expected revenues and forecasted strong growth on AI demand on Wednesday after the bell. That contributed to a strong gain of 2.9% for the VanEck Semiconductor ETF.

The strong showing for semis came in spite of terrible news for Super Micro Computer, which plunged 12.2% on a report that the Justice Department is investigating the company.

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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.”

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