Market Recap: U.S. stocks book 3rd day of gains

Moomoo Recap US joined discussion · Jul 22, 2021 19:27

Market Recap: U.S. stocks book 3rd day of gains

Hey moomooers,

Here is the latest Market Recap for you.

U.S. stocks rallied to close a rocky Thursday on the upside. Growth stocks were the winners. Their value counterparts just couldn’t shake off a jump in jobless claims.

Stocks to watch: $Intel(INTC.US)$, $Twitter (Delisted)(TWTR.US)$, $Snap Inc(SNAP.US)$, $Domino's Pizza(DPZ.US)$, etc.

Market Snapshot

U.S. stocks booked a third straight day of gains Thursday, despite data showing first-time applications for unemployment benefits rose last week, as investors focused on corporate earnings reports.

Even though many S&P 500 index sectors slipped, gains for several technology heavyweights, including Apple and Microsoft, pushed the index higher and close to a new record.

The $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$rose 25.35 points, or 0.1%.

The $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$gained 8.79 points, or 0.2%.

The $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$tacked on 52.64 points, or 0.4%.

What to drove the market?

Stocks perked up in afternoon trading to rebound for a third day, following Monday's sharp selloff.

Some think recent action in equities could be signaling the beginning of a period of more moderate gains for stocks though, which largely have been moving only higher since last summer.

"Peak growth also probably is in the rearview mirror,”said Matt Stucky, portfolio manager, equities at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management. "But that doesn't mean equities can't move higher, but the sharpness and magnitude up for equity returns probably moderate from here."

A strong second-quarter corporate earnings reporting season rolls on though, while most U.S. economic data suggests the recovery from the pandemic is intact.

For U.S. investment-grade companies alreadying reporting for the second-quarter, earnings came in 16% ahead of expectations at the start of the season, "a very large beat," according to BofA Global analysts, who also noted that the first quarter holds the record at about 21% beat.

What stocks to watch

$Intel(INTC.US)$shares were last down over 2% in the extended session, following an initial 3% uptick in after-hours trading, after the chip maker topped expectations, but its outlook barely surpassed the average forecast from Wall Street analysts.

$Snap Inc(SNAP.US)$shares are up 17% in after-hours trading, while $Twitter (Delisted)(TWTR.US)$shares are up 5% after the two social media stocks reported second-quarter earnings Thursday after hours and saw a surge in active users and revenue.

$Texas Instruments(TXN.US)$stock fell 5.3% after reporting a profit of $2.05 a share, beating estimates for $1.83 a share, on sales of $4.58 billion, above expectations for $4.36 billion.

$CSX Corp(CSX.US)$stock rose 3.5% after reporting a profit of 40 cents a share, beating estimates of 37 cents a share, on sales of $2.99 billion, above expectations for $2.94 billion.

$Las Vegas Sands(LVS.US)$stock dropped 4.4% after reporting a loss of 26 cents a share, worse than estimates of 16 cents a share, on sales of $1.17 billion, below expectations for $1.41 billion.

$Unilever(UL.US)$shares slumped 4.5%, as the maker of Dove soap and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream warned its operating margin for the year will be flat due to cost inflation.

$Domino's Pizza(DPZ.US)$shares are trading significantly higher Thursday after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 financial results and announced a $1 billion buyback.