[ad_1]
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Big new number
The S&P 500 hit a fresh new milestone on Wednesday, closing above 5,600 for the first time ever thanks to a rise in semiconductor stocks. The broad market index jumped 1.02%, and marked a seventh straight day of gains. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, climbed 1.18% and also hit a new all-time high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average joined the trend, adding 429.39 points, or 1.09%. Chip stocks led the day, with Taiwan Semiconductor rising 3.5% and Nvidia adding 2.7%, while Qualcomm and Broadcom rose about 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively. Follow live market updates.
2. Earnings season takes off
Budrul Chukrut | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Delta shares tumbled nearly 10% in premarket trading Thursday morning after the airline kicked off earnings season with a forecast that fell short of analysts’ estimates. Delta forecast record revenue for the third quarter, thanks to booming summer travel demand, but it expects to grow its flying capacity by 5% to 6% compared with last year, slower than the 8% it had expected in the second quarter. Airlines are seeing travel demand break records, but profits have lagged as the industry faces higher costs. Meanwhile, Delta also reported earnings in line with expectations and adjusted revenue of $15.41 billion, slightly less than the $15.45 billion expected, based on consensus estimates from LSEG.
3. One ring
An attendee films Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Smart Ring during its unveiling ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, July 8, 2024.
Kim Hong-ji | Reuters
Samsung wants to put a ring on it. The tech giant launched the Galaxy Ring on Wednesday, a lightweight “smart ring” equipped with sensors designed for health monitoring 24 hours a day. The ring starts at $399.99. The announcement follows rival Apple‘s push into that space and comes as users hold onto smartphones for longer, inspiring device makers to look for add-on electronics products. Among other things, Samsung also unveiled its latest foldable smartphones, which are packed with AI features, at an event in Paris. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 starts at $1,899.99 and opens like a book to have a bigger screen, while the Z Flip6 is a more traditional flip phone with a bendable screen and starts at $1,099.99.
4. Not the spot
Pavlo Gonchar | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Shares of software company Hubspot plunged 12% Wednesday after Bloomberg reported that Google parent Alphabet has shelved plans to buy the company. Alphabet expressed its interest in a deal earlier this year, “but the sides didn’t reach a point of detailed discussions about due diligence,” according to the report, which cited people with knowledge of the matter. Hubspot, which makes software that other companies use to automate marketing and reach prospective customers, has reported strong revenue growth and sales in recent quarters. An acquisition would have helped Google grow revenue from its business software and cloud infrastructure, but U.S. regulators have been pushing back on deals involving Big Tech companies.
5. Costs go up
Customers enter a Costco Wholesale Corp. warehouse store in Hawthorne, California, on June 12, 2024.
Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty Images
Costco is going to cost more. The retailer said Wednesday that the price of a standard annual membership would rise by $5, to $65 from $60, in the U.S. and Canada starting Sept. 1. The higher tier of its membership, the “Executive Plan” would increase by $10, to $130 a year from $120. It’s the first time in seven years that Costco has raised its membership fees and has delayed its usual timeline of upping the price every five and a half years as consumers dealt with high inflation.
— CNBC’s Brian Evans, Leslie Josephs, Arjun Kharpal, Jordan Novet, Jennifer Elias and Melissa Repko contributed to this report.
— Follow broader market action like a pro on CNBC Pro.
[ad_2]
