Dow closes more than 300 points higher, S&P 500 posts first winning day in three: Live

The iShares MSCI India ETF (INDA) hit an intraday all-time high again on Thursday as the rally for stocks tied to the country continues.

Morgan Stanley strategist Ridham Desai said in a note to clients Thursday that the India bull market could continue for several more years.

“This is set to be India’s longest and best bull market ever,” Desai’s note said.

Read more about the iShares fund and the market outlook for India on CNBC Pro.

— Jesse Pound

The first-quarter earnings season is nearing its end. As of Thursday morning, three-quarters of the S&P 500, or 373 companies, have reported results.

So far, 77% of companies have topped earnings expectations, while 61% have surpassed revenue estimates, according to LSEG data. Based on the blended growth rate, companies are on pace to report 6.9% earnings growth year over year and 3.6% revenue growth.

Communications technology is expected to see the most significant quarterly earnings growth at nearly 44% year over year. Earnings for the health-care and energy sectors are expected to decline more than 24% each from a year ago.

— Samantha Subin, Robert Hum

The market correction is not over just yet, according to BMO Capital Markets chief investment strategist Brian Belski.

When central bankers don’t cut interest rates “because inflation is in check and earnings growth is good … that’s gonna cause some recalibration,” Belski said on CNBC’s “Fast Money Halftime Report.” “I don’t think the correction is over … I think we have a little bit more to go. I think people are trying to be too cute and say 5%—a 5% correction would be the shallowest correction in a bull market history.”

Belski does not anticipate a rate cut in 2024, but if it does happen, he believes it will happen after the U.S. presidential election this year. Between now and the next rate cut, he believes traders will have to rethink their investment strategy, particularly those who believe in buying stocks simply because rate cuts are implemented.

“I think what’s gonna end up happening is we are transitioning to normality, and normality is the inflation numbers that are very strong,” he said.

— Pia Singh

Check out some of the companies making headlines in midday trading:

• Apple — Shares ticked up roughly 2% ahead of the iPhone maker’s second-quarter results due after the closing bell.
• Peloton — Shares dropped 13% after the exercise equipment company announced Thursday that CEO Barry McCarthy will be stepping down and that the company will lay off 15% of its staff, or about 400 employees, to “bring its spending in line with its revenue.” Peloton’s fiscal third-quarter results also missed Wall Street’s earnings and revenue expectations.
• Qualcomm — Shares rose more than 9% after the chipmaker on Wednesday posted $2.44 per share in adjusted earnings for its latest quarter, topping analysts’ estimates of $2.32 per share, according to LSEG. The top end of Qualcomm’s revenue forecast for the current quarter was higher than the Street’s expectations, with the company citing demand for smartphones that require the most advanced chips.

Read the full list here.

— Brian Evans

Qualcomm rallied 8% on Thursday, putting shares of the chipmaker on pace for their best day since November 2022.

Those moves came on the back of strong quarterly results and current-quarter guidance. Qualcomm reported adjusted earnings of $2.44 per share, topping the $2.32 expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Revenue came in at $9.39 billion, surpassing the $9.34 billion expected.

For the current quarter, Qualcomm said it expects sales to range between $8.8 billion and $9.6 billion. That is ahead of the $9.05 billion expected by Wall Street analysts.

— Samantha Subin

Boeing shares rallied nearly 4% on Thursday, contributing to the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 190-point gain.

For the week, Boeing shares have added more than 6%. The stock has come under pressure this year, falling 32% amid a spate of manufacturing issues.

Nike, Apple, Amazon and UnitedHealth also boosted the index, adding at least 1% each.

— Samantha Subin

Materials stocks underperformed during Thursday’s session, putting pressure on the S&P 500’s gains.

The sector declined 0.7% during morning trading. Linde PLC, the Mosaic Company and CF Industries Holdings were the biggest laggards, shedding 5% each, while Freeport-McMoRan fell about 2%.

Health-care stocks also lagged during Thursday’s session, led to the downside by an 8% drop in shares of Baxter International. CVS Health fell more than 4%.

— Samantha Subin

The Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY) advanced more than 3% in morning trading, as a handful of names posted big moves on the back of earnings.

Carvana led the fund higher, soaring more than 33% after posting record results in the first quarter. Wayfair was the next-biggest gainer, jumping more than 12% on a financial report that beat analysts’ expectations on both lines.

Those advances outweighed notable losses seen in Etsy and DoorDash, which also moved as investors reacted to their earnings reports. Etsy dropped more than 16% in morning trading, while DoorDash tumbled more than 13%.

— Alex Harring, Gina Francolla

Information technology and consumer discretionary stocks outperformed on Thursday, with each of the S&P 500 sectors advancing about 1%.

Megacaps broadly outperformed during the trading session. Apple was higher by 1.7% ahead of its earnings results after the close. Amazon.com shares climbed 1.7%. Nvidia and Microsoft each gained more than 1%. Meta Platforms was the notable laggard, with shares falling 1%.

— Sarah Min

Stocks opened higher on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 224 points, or 0.62%. The S&P 500 climbed about 0.73%, while the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.86%.

— Sarah Min

Check out the companies making the biggest moves in premarket trading:

• Peloton Interactive — Shares climbed 15% after the fitness company announced CEO Barry McCarthy will step down while it seeks a permanent CEO. Peloton also set a restructuring plan that will cut 15% of its staff, or about 400 employees. Once a pandemic darling, Peloton has seen its shares slide. The stock is down 47% year to date.
• Qualcomm — Shares rose more than 5% after the chipmaker on Wednesday posted $2.44 per share in adjusted earnings in its latest quarter, topping analysts’ estimates of $2.32 per share, according to LSEG. The top end of Qualcomm’s revenue forecast for the current quarter was higher than the Street’s expectations, with the company citing demand for smartphones that require the most advanced chips.
• Wayfair — Shares added 5.5% after the home furniture retailer’s sales topped analysts’ estimates, and reduced its losses after letting go of 13% of its workforce at the start of the year, the company said Thursday. Still, Wayfair’s sales slid in the first quarter.

— Michelle Fox

The cost of labor rose more than expected in the first quarter, another sign that inflation was more stubborn than expected to start the year.

Unit labor costs increased 4.7% in the January to March period, the product of a 5% increase in hourly compensation offset by a 0.3% growth rate in productivity, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a 4% increase in unit labor costs and 0.5% for productivity.

A separate report showed that initial filings for unemployment benefits were unchanged at 208,000 last week but below the forecast for 212,000.

— Jeff Cox

Moderna shares added less than 1% after the vaccine maker posted a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss for the recent quarter as it trims costs.

The company reported a loss of $3.07 per share on $167 million in revenue, topping the loss of $3.58 per share and $97.5 million in revenue expected by analysts polled by LSEG.

Moderna also reiterated its full-year 2024 guidance of roughly $4 billion. This includes potential revenue from its RSV vaccine.

— Samantha Subin, Annika Kim Constantino

European stocks had a choppy start to Thursday trade amid a flurry of earnings, with major bourses trading mixed.

The benchmark Stoxx 600 index shed early gains to trade 0.14% lower by 8:56 a.m. London time. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 rose 0.45%, while France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.8%. Germany’s DAX was down 0.1%.

— Jenni Reid

Nvidia supplier SK Hynix on Thursday said its high-bandwidth memory chips were nearly out of stock for 2025, according to Reuters, as the artificial intelligence boom fuels demand for these chips.

The South Korean memory chip maker said its HBM chips were completely sold out for 2024.

The firm said it would begin mass production of the latest generation of HBM chips, the 12-layer HBM3E, in the third quarter.

SK Hynix shares are down 0.4% on Thursday.

— Sheila Chiang, Reuters

Singapore bank DBS Group reported a 15% jump in first-quarter net profit from a year earlier to a record S$2.96 billion, or $2.17 billion.

Compared to the previous quarter, net profit jumped 24%.

“We are optimistic that total income and earnings will be better than previously guided and we will be able to deliver another year of strong shareholder returns,” DBS CEO Piyush Gupta said in a statement.

Last year, DBS reported a record profit of S$10.3 billion. Shares of DBS rose more than 2.32% following the results.

— Lee Ying Shan

Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc. jumped 20% in early trading, touching their highest level in more than six weeks.

The company said it delivered 15,620 vehicles in April, a 134.6% year-over-year increase.

“The deliveries consisted of 8,817 premium smart electric SUVs, and 6,803 premium smart electric sedans,” Nio said in a statement on Wednesday.

Nio has delivered 45,673 vehicles so far this year, 21.2% more compared with the same period a year earlier.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

The Japanese yen traded at 155.95 against the U.S. dollar, strengthening to its strongest level in 11 days.

Japanese authorities are suspected to have intervened to prop up the currency on Monday after it breached the 160 level against the greenback to touch fresh 34-year lows.

Japanese authorities are yet to make an official statement about any support measures taken to boost the yen after having repeatedly warned against “excessive” moves in the currency.

Japan stocks were lower on the day, with the Nikkei 225 down 0.3%.

— Shreyashi Sanyal