S&P 500 closes lower for a fifth day, posts longest losing streak since October: Live updates

The S&P 500 slipped for a fifth straight day on Thursday, registering its longest losing streak since last October.

The broad index lost 0.22% to 5,011.12, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.52% to 15,601.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 22.07 points, or 0.06%, to finish at 37,775.38, still closing just above its flatline for 2024.

Each day this week, the S&P 500 rallied into the green at one point during the trading session, only to give up that gain before the close.

With those declines, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each notched their fifth straight down day. For the S&P 500, it is the first losing streak of that length since late October, just before the current bull market began. This is also the longest negative run for the Nasdaq since January.

The major indexes are also all poised to see losses this week. The S&P 500 has slid more than 2% so far in the week, while the Dow dipped 0.6% for the same period.

The Nasdaq has tumbled more than 3% this week as technology shares struggled. That puts the index on pace for its fourth straight down week, which would mark the longest negative streak since December 2022.

The moves come during what has been a difficult second quarter on Wall Street, with all three indexes down in April. That pullback has been driven in part by growing concerns around the path of inflation and monetary policy from the Federal Reserve.

"This has been one of the most widely advertised pullbacks that we've had," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial. Now, "what we're paying attention to … is whether or not we are going to see lower lows."

Investors have followed the latest corporate earnings releases in what's shaping up to be a positive start for the season. More than 12% of S&P 500-listed companies have now reported, according to FactSet. Of those that have already posted results, 73% have surpassed Wall Street expectations for their individual performances.

S&P 500 finishes lower, notching longest losing streak since October

The S&P 500 ended Thursday in the red, marking its longest negative period going back to before the current bull market began.

The broad index slid 0.2%, capping its fifth straight down day. That's the first down streak of that length since just before the bull market began in October.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.5%. It was also the technology-heavy index's fifth straight losing session, a first since January.

The Dow finished the session slightly above flat. All three indexes are down on the week.

— Alex Harring

S&P 500 'modestly oversold,' says Strategas

The recent stock selloff has led to a rise in some oversold signals, according to Chris Verrone, Strategas head of technical and macro research.

Around 30% is currently trading above its 50-day moving average, close to the 20% range "worth targeting in uptrends," he wrote in a Thursday note.

"Yesterday's pop in put/call ratios + the recent increase in "short" S&P ETF volumes have caught our eye as price action begins to affect behavior," Verrone said.

To be sure, market leadership is ultimately more important, he noted. Utilities have notably started to pick up even as rates have risen, which Verrone believes is worth keeping an eye on.

"The more important question on our mind is what character does leadership assume on any bounce and whether the pro-cyclical tone that has been so dominant for much of the last 6 months can resume? Discretionary vs. Staples has consolidated but is borderline oversold… important for this to respond affirmatively over coming weeks," said Verrone.

— Hakyung Kim

Inflation will remain elevated above the Fed's 2% target, MRB Partners says

Wall Street could be mistaken in its hope that a recent uptick in inflation is an irregularity as opposed to a longer and more worrying trend, according to MRB Partners.

"The prevailing consensus is that inflation's recent pickup is an anomaly, and that inflation will return to its low pre-pandemic run-rate ahead," the firm wrote on Wednesday. "The last three CPI reports support MRB's view that the consensus is mistaken."

Instead, inflation will likely run at a 3% to 4% clip, according to MRB. The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumptions expenditures index, will also "reaccelerate later in the year," the firm notes.

"Unlike the Fed and the consensus, we believe that ultimately economic growth matters greatly for inflation," the independent research firm said.

— Brian Evans

Buy this 'safe haven' airline stock with more than 60% upside, Morgan Stanley says

Investors may want to start looking at United Airlines as a "safe haven" to park in an environment riddled with uncertainty, according to Morgan Stanley.

"UAL shook off a noisy quarter with a healthy 1Q beat but the main draw was 2Q guidance coming in well above cons. expectations," wrote analyst Ravi Shanker in a Thursday note. "With strong fundamentals and the Investor Day likely to provide narrative momentum into the fall, UAL (together with DAL) could be seen as idiosyncratic winners into 2025."

Shares of the airline stock surged more than 17% on Wednesday, a day after posting a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss and issuing strong second-quarter guidance.

According to Shanker, the U.S. airline industry sits at an "important inflection point" and investors need to give United's management team more credit. Investors willing to take a more long-term approach should also see EPS normalize by 2026 and 2027, he added.

Given this setup, Shanker boosted the firm's price target to $80 a share, reflecting 64% upside from Wednesday's close.

"UAL's strong 2Q guide ... easier 2H comps, structural tailwinds ... and a clear catalyst with the Fall Investor Day, potentially set up UAL for an extended re-rating of the multiple over time," he wrote. "We further believe numbers most likely have to come up."

— Samantha Subin

8 stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week lows

Eight stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week lows on Thursday. These were:

• Aptiv trading at lows not seen since May, 2020
• Caesars Entertainment trading at levels not seen since Oct, 2022
• Tesla trading at lows not seen since Jan, 2023
• Walgreens Boots Alliance trading at lows not seen since May, 1998
• MarketAxess Holdings trading at lows not seen since Dec, 2018
• Biogen trading at lows not seen since June, 2022
• Gilead Sciences trading at lows not seen since Oct, 2022
• Johnson & Johnson trading at lows not seen since Nov, 2020

Just two stocks in the broader index hit their 52-week highs. These tickers were Wells Fargo and Elevance Health.

— Lisa Kailai Han, Christopher Hayes

What to know before Netflix reports results

Netflix earnings hit the Street after the bell Thursday and the pressure is heating up for the media giant following two strong quarters of subscriber growth.

Along with the top-and-bottom line numbers, analysts will also be paying close attention to insight on some key initiatives.

Read more on what to know before the report here.

— Samantha Subin

Expectations are so low for Johnson & Johnson, it's time to buy, HSBC says

Investors are very down on Johnson & Johnson. Shares hit a fesh 52-week low in trading Thursday, which puts the stock down about 8% year to date. HSBC analyst Morten Herholdt says the stock's decline gives investors a good entry point, and he upgraded it to buy from hold. He sees nearly 18% upside over the next year, based on his $170 price target.

"The shares have retreated to three year lows despite fundamentals that are, in our view, unchanged," Herholdt wrote in a research note. While J&J is facing a number of ongoing pressures that include expiring patents and talc litigation, the bias is to the upside on several fronts, according to Herholdt.

As examples, he cited the possibility for the Velys robot's international rollout and the Shockwave acquisition to provide a greater lift than expected.

—Christina Cheddar Berk

Communication service stocks outperform

Communication service stocks were among the best performers during Thursday's session, lifting the S&P 500 sector more than 1%.

Meta Platforms and Paramount Global led the sector's gains, jumped more than 2% each. Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox, Comcast and Alphabet added about 1%.

Three other sectors held onto slight gains during afternoon trading. Financials rose 0.3%, while utilities and consumer staples added about 0.2% each.

Information technology and consumer discretionary were the worst-performing sectors, falling 0.7% each. Las Vegas Sands led the losses within consumer discretionary, shedding more than 9%. Tesla slumped 3.6%. NXP Semiconductors and Autodesk were the biggest laggards in information technology, dropping more than 3%.

— Samantha Subin

Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Duolingo, JetBlue, Tesla and more

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading:

• Duolingo — The online language app company popped 7.5% after JPMorgan reiterated its overweight rating on the stock, saying it has an attractive risk/reward.
• JetBlue Airways — Shares jumped 6.6% after JPMorgan upgraded the airline to neutral from underperform, saying it likes its turnaround potential.
• Bitcoin miners – Shares of bitcoin mining companies rallied ahead of the widely anticipated "halving," which cuts miners' main stream of revenue in half, as mandated by the Bitcoin code. Marathon Digital rose more than 6%, Riot Platforms gained nearly 5%, and Iris Energy was up 8%. CleanSpark, which is one of the only miners still up for the year, rallied 13%.

For the full list, read here.

— Pia Singh

Mining stocks rise ahead of the Bitcoin halving

Bitcoin mining stocks rose on Thursday ahead of the imminent "halving" event, which will cut their main stream of revenue in half and is estimated to take place in the next couple of days.

Marathon Digital rose 7%, Riot Platforms gained more than 4% and Iris Energy was up 8%. CleanSpark, which is one of the only miners still up for the year, rallied 13%.

Many of the publicly listed miners have been preparing for it by making big purchase orders for new mining equipment or increasing their electricity capacity and growing their hash rates. Nevertheless, uncertainty ahead of the halving has pressured mining stocks, most of which are down double digits for the year.

While most of the public cryptocurrency miners are positioned to survive the supply shock of the Bitcoin halving, JPMorgan has named its top picks. For more details, read the full story here.

— Tanaya Macheel

Meta shares jump after AI assistant announcement

Meta Platforms gained more than 3% after updating Meta AI, its AI-powered assistant. The company launched a partnership with Google to include its search results when answering prompts.

The company also released a new open source AI model, Llama 3.

— Hakyung Kim

Trump Media rises 20% early Thursday morning before falling back down

The extremely volatile Trump Media stock spiked more than 20% early Thursday morning, before falling back down. The stock was last trading around 14% higher.

Since launching on the stock exchange, shares of Trump Media have whiplashed. The stock fell 20% last week and dropped 18% and 14% respectively on Monday and Tuesday but closed 15% higher on Wednedsay.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Tesla touches 52-week low after market open

Tesla shares slipped nearly 3% on Thursday, hitting a 52-week low of $148.70 just after the day's market open.

Earlier Thursday morning, Deutsche Bank's longtime bullish analyst Emmanuel Rosner downgraded the electric vehicle manufacturer to a hold rating from buy. He also slashed his price target to $123 from $189, with this updated forecast implying 20.9% downside in the next year.

As a reason for the downgrade, Rosner pointed to a report from Reuters that said Tesla had canceled plans to build its inexpensive Model 2 car.

"The delay of Model 2 efforts creates the risk of no new vehicle in Tesla's consumer lineup for the foreseeable future, which would put continued downward pressure on its volume and pricing for many more years, requiring downward earnings estimate revisions for 2026+," Rosner wrote.

Faced with a series of obstacles this year including a factory fire and waning China sales, Tesla stock has slid 39% this year.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Leading indicators post 0.3% decline, worse than expected

The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators declined more than expected in March, reversing the previous month's gain.

The index posted a drop of 0.3% on the month, down from a 0.2% increase in February and below the Dow Jones estimate for a -0.1% reading. The index measures 10 indicators including stocks, housing statistics, employment data and various credit and bond market measures.

"Overall, the Index points to a fragile—even if not recessionary—outlook for the U.S. economy. Indeed, rising consumer debt, elevated interest rates, and persistent inflation pressures continue to pose risks to economic activity in 2024," said Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, senior manager of business cycle indicators at The Conference Board.

—Jeff Cox

Small caps could see volatility spike, Russell 2000 fall, Wolfe Research says

Small cap stocks appear to be on the verge of a negative technical trend, Wolfe Research analyst Rob Ginsberg said in an overnight note to clients.

"There's a breakout on the horizon within small caps. Unfortunately, its not in price though, its within volatility," the note said.

The Cboe Russell 2000 Volatility Index is nearing a resistance level that has held firm in recent uptrends, but this time might be different, Ginsberg said.

"Momentum for the RVX is just turning positive and implies there's further room to run. Should this get out like we think, expect the Russell 2000 to take out $1900 and start eyeing $1800," the note said.

The small cap index itself has struggled in recent weeks and is now down nearly 4% year to date. The Russell 2000 closed just below the 1,950 level on Wednesday.

— Jesse Pound

Existing home sales fell less than expected; prices jump

Existing home sales declined less than expected in March as prices set a new record, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

Sales fell 4.3% on the month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.19 million, compared to the Dow Jones estimate for a decline of 4.8% and a total level of 4.17 million.

At the same time, the median existing home price jumped to $393,500, a 4.8% increase and the highest ever for the month. Inventory also increased, rising by 1.11 million to the equivalent of 3.2 months of supply.

—Jeff Cox

Russell 2000 heads for worst month since 2022

The Russell 2000 is on track to notch its worst monthly performance since 2022 as small caps face pressure.

The small-cap index has dropped more than 8% so far in April. If that holds through the month's conclusion, it would mark the biggest monthly loss going back to September of 2022, when it tumbled more than 9%.

— Alex Harring

Stocks open higher

Stocks kicked off Thursday's session higher.

The Dow traded 0.3% higher shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each added around 0.2%.

— Alex Harring

Stocks making the biggest moves premarket

These are some of the companies making headlines before the bell.

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing — U.S.-traded shares of the Taiwanese chipmaker fell 2.4% despite beating revenue and profit expectations in the first quarter. The company reported no structural damage from the earthquake in Taiwan earlier in April, but noted some wafers "had to be scrapped." Most of the lost production will be recovered in the second quarter, according to management. TSMC forecasts healthy growth in 2024 and guided second-quarter revenue to a range between $19.6 billion and $20.4 billion.
• Tesla — Shares of the electric vehicle maker were down more than 2% after a Deutsche Bank downgrade to hold from buy. "The delay of Model 2 efforts creates the risk of no new vehicle in Tesla's consumer lineup for the foreseeable future, which would put continued downward pressure on its volume and pricing for many more years," the bank said.
• D.R. Horton — Shares jumped 3.3% after the homebuilder topped expectations in its fiscal second quarter. D.R. Horton earned $3.52 per share and revenue of $9.11 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had forecasted $3.06 per share and $8.27 billion in revenue.

The full list can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index up much more than expected

A gauge measuring manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region posted an unexpectedly sharp gain in April, due in good part to a jump in an inflation measure.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing index rose to 15.5 for the month, up more than 12 points from March and better than the Dow Jones estimate for 2.5. The index measures the percentage difference between companies reporting expansion and contraction, so anything above zero is positive.

Most of the gain came from three categories: prices paid, which saw a nearly 20-point surge to 23; new orders, which increased nearly 7 points to 12.2, and shipments, which posted a nearly 8-point gain to 19.1. The employment index edged lower to -10.7 and the average work week plunged to -18.7, a drop of 18.5 points.

—Jeff Cox

Jobless claims unchanged last week at 212,000

Initial filings for unemployment claims held steady at 212,000 for the week ended April 13, indicating that companies remain reluctant to lay off workers, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The claims number was slightly below the Dow Jones estimate for 215,000 and reflected a still-tight labor market despite the Federal Reserve holding its benchmark interest rate at the highest level in 23 years.

Continuing claims, which run a week behind, were little changed, rising 2,000 to 1.81 million, meeting the FactSet estimate.

—Jeff Cox

Stock returns will continue to be 'robust' in the intermediate term, Wolfe Research says

Stocks appear to have lost some momentum in recent weeks, with the S&P 500 on pace for its third straight week of losses. But Wolfe Research said it remains bullish on equities.

"Over the near term, our sense is that U.S. equity markets are likely to experience some additional downward pressure," Chris Senyek wrote on Thursday. "However, over the intermediate-term, we continue to believe that the Market Cycle will have the biggest impact on overall equity market returns, sector rotation, and thematic performance."

In fact, Senyek said markets remain in what the firm calls the early acceleration phase, a period when equity returns have "historically been robust and it's paid to be cyclically-positioned." He added traders should remain in short-cycle industrials, which are especially sensitive to the economy in the near term, as well as analog semiconductors and energy services.

— Sarah Min

Blackstone retreats after decreasing dividend

Blackstone slid nearly 2% after shrinking its dividend.

The alternative asset manager said it would offer a dividend of 83 cents per common share payable on May 6. That's smaller than the per-share payout of 94 cents last seen.

That announcement overshadowed expectation-beating earnings per share for the first quarter.

— Alex Harring

D.R. Horton pops on earnings beat

D.R. Horton jumped nearly 3% in premarket trading after the homebuilder topped expectations in its fiscal second quarter.

The company earned $3.52 per share on revenue at $9.11 billion in the three-month period. That came ahead of the $3.06 per share and $8.27 billion revenue estimates from analysts polled by LSEG.

Shares have slipped more than 4% so far in 2024, giving up some gains after soaring more than 70% in the prior year.

— Alex Harring

Europe stocks open higher

European stocks were cautiously higher early Thursday, with the Stoxx 600 index up 0.26% at 9:20 a.m. in London and sectors trading mixed.

Major bourses climbed, with France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both up 0.5%, while Germany's DAX was up 0.1%.

— Karen Gilchrist

Asia airline stocks gain as oil prices decline more than 3%

Airline stocks in Asia soared as oil prices sunk more than 3%, due to higher-than-expected U.S. inventory.

South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines led Asian airlines, up almost 4%, while counterpart Korean Air posted a 3.23% gain.

Australian flag carrier Qantas was up almost 3.8%, while Japan's ANA and Japan Airlines climbed 1.53% and 2.8%, respectively.

Other airlines posted smaller gains, such as Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines, which were up 1% and 0.48%, respectively.

— Lim Hui Jie

U.S. acknowledges Japan and South Korea's 'serious concerns' on currency

The U.S. acknowledged Japan and South Korea's "serious concerns" over the recent sharp depreciation in both the yen and the won. All three sides agreed to "consult closely on foreign exchange market developments."

This comes after the first trilateral meeting between the top finance officials of the three countries.

The Japanese yen recently reached its weakest level against the U.S. dollar in 34 years, and is currently trading at 154.26.

The South Korean won has also reached its weakest level against the greenback in about 18 months, currently trading at 1,377.11.

— Lim Hui Jie

Morgan Stanley, HSBC cutting Asia investment banking jobs this week: Reuters

Morgan Stanley and HSBC are cutting dozens of investment banking jobs in the Asia-Pacific region this week, according to a Reuters report.

Citing sources, Reuters said this comes as the two banks ramp up cost-cutting, with weaker deal-making and sluggish markets in China and Hong Kong weighing on business prospects.

Morgan Stanley is cutting at least 50 investment banking jobs in the region starting this week, according to the report, affecting around 13% of its Asia investment banking workforce of 400.

HSBC reportedly started layoffs on Tuesday, and around 30 dealmakers are expected to leave the company.

— Lim Hui Jie

Nasdaq Composite is on track for longest weekly losing streak since December 2022

It's only Wednesday, but the Nasdaq Composite is already pacing for a 3% decline this week – and its fourth weekly decline.

If the tech-heavy index ends the week in the red, it'll mark the longest weekly losing streak for the Nasdaq since December 2022.

As it stands, the 3% fall already puts the Nasdaq on track for its worst weekly performance since January.

A sharp decline in tech shares, with Nvidia posting a nearly 4% drop, dragged the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to their fourth losing session in a row on Wednesday. It also pulled the two indexes deeper into negative territory for April.

-Darla Mercado, Chris Hayes

A strong earnings season can safeguard equities from higher interest rates, Barclays says

A strong slate of first-quarter earnings can serve to defend markets from high interest rates, according to Barclays.

"We think earnings can still backstop equities against higher rates," analyst Emmanuel Cau wrote on Wednesday. "Much lowered Q1 estimates offer room for beats and pullback has reduced froth; so long as improving activity data keep an FY24 earnings recovery on track, buy the dip may work."

However, "re-rating leaves little margin for error," Cau added.

— Brian Evans

Stock futures are little changed on Wednesday

Stock futures were little changed on Wednesday after the S&P 500 suffered its fourth-straight losing session.

Futures tied to the broad market index ticked up 0.02%, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.1%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 5 points, or 0.01%.

— Brian Evans