Yahoo Finance Stock Market News for May 3, 2024
U.S. stock markets closed sharply higher on Thursday following the Fed’s latest FOMC meeting, which was less hawkish than expected. Investors considered Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s post-FOMC meeting statement in which he denied restarting of the rate hike regime. Market participants also appreciated better-than-expected first quarter 2024 earnings results so far. All three major stock indexes ended in positive territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) advanced 0.9% or 322.37 points to close at 38,225.66. Notably, 25 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory while 5 ended in negative zone. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 15,840.96, jumping 1.5% or 235.48 points due to strong performance by U.S. corporate behemoths.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.9% to finish at 5,064.20, terminating a three-day losing streak. Nine out of11 broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in positive territory, while two in negative zone. The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE), the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) and the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) rose 1.4%, 1.4%, 1.3% and 1%, respectively.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 4.6% to 14.68. A total of 11.19 billion shares were traded on Thursday, higher than the last 20-session average of 11.04 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 3.63-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 2.29-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.
Strong Earnings Results
Qualcomm Inc. QCOM reported relatively healthy second-quarter fiscal 2024 results. Quarterly adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.44, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.30. On a GAAP basis, total revenues in the fiscal second quarter were $9,389 million exceeding the consensus mark of $9,301 million.
Becton, Dickinson and Co. BDX delivered adjusted earnings per share of $3.17 in the second quarter of fiscal 2024, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.1%. The company registered revenues of $5.05 billion in the fiscal second quarter, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.3%.
The Southern Co. SO came out with quarterly earnings of $1.03 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.90 per share. The company posted revenues of $6.65 billion for the quarter ended March 2024, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.67%.
Consequently, stock prices of Qualcomm, Becton, Dickinson and The Southern increased 9.7%, 2.8% and 1.1%, respectively. Both Qualcomm and Becton, Dickinson carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Economic Data
The Department of Labor reported that initial claims remained unchanged at 208,000 for the week ended Apr 27, lower-than the consensus estimate of 212,000. Previous week’s data was revised upward from 207,000 to 208,000. Continuing claims (those who have already received government aids and reported a week behind) remained unchanged at 1.774 million for the week ended Apr 20.
The U.S. trade deficits for goods and services in March came in at $69.4 billion, marginally lower than the consensus estimate of $69.5 billion. February’s data was revised higher to a deficit of $69.5 billion from $68.9 billion reported earlier.
New orders for manufactured goods for March increased 1.6%, beating the consensus estimate of 1.5%. February’s data was revised downward to 1.2% from 1.4% reported earlier. In March, orders for manufactured durable goods rose 2.6%, while manufactured nondurable goods rose 0.6%.
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Southern Company (The) (SO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
