Stock Market Today: Another Split Market as Jobs Concerns Grow
A mounting list of planned playoffs weighs on stocks Thursday, though Big Tech manages to hoist the Nasdaq up to another record high.
Thursday was another turbulent day for stocks as the nation's economic picture continued to cloud up. The volume of new unemployment claims declined once again, to 1.31 million last week, but fresh bad news on the jobs front weighed on investors.
Walgreens (WBA, -7.8%), one of just a couple of noteworthy stocks with earnings reports this week, announced it would cut 4,000 U.K. jobs and freeze share buybacks amid weak quarterly results.
Credit Suisse analysts identified signals of trouble a day ahead of the report: "Trends toward the last part of March were particularly soft, as UK Boots sales declined by 65% over the last 10 days of the month. Health & Beauty sales are particularly important for Boots in the UK, and the company saw consumers significantly reduce spending for discretionary items."
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that Wells Fargo (WFC, -2.0%) plans to cut thousands of jobs later this year, citing people familiar with the confidential talks.
The Dow declined 1.4% to 25,706, the S&P 500 fell 0.6% to 3,152, and the small-cap Russell 2000 was walloped for a 2% loss to 1,398.
However, the Nasdaq grinded out yet another win, up 0.5% to a record-high 10,547. The tech-heavy composite received help from names such as Amazon.com (AMZN, +3.3%) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, +7.2%), as well as Costco (COST, +2.9%), which climbed after reporting a massive 11.5% jump in June comparable-store sales.
How Long Can the Uneven Market Last?
The Nasdaq's stocks extended their yearlong outperformance, delivering 17%-plus gains in 2020 versus a 2% loss for the S&P 500 and nearly 10% declines for the Dow.
But it has increasingly been a lopsided effort.
Consider that on Thursday, even as the Nasdaq finished in the black, 2,264 of its components declined (versus just 1,059 advancers) – a lack of breadth that could be concerning if it persists.
"It does not necessarily matter who leads a bull market on a relative basis, but from a nominal price standpoint we do need to see all or most groups confirming the action forged by any leadership sector," writes Dan Wantrobski, technical strategist and associate director of research at Janney Montgomery Scott. "The fact that the NASDAQ continues to press to new highs as broad participation weakens further is a clear and present divergence that needs to be repaired in the weeks ahead. If not, it would point to a bigger correction ahead, in our opinion."
For now, technology remains the hot hand – whether it's mega-caps most coveted by hedge-fund managers or lesser-known tech firms starting to make a name for themselves.
Wall Street's pros keep beating that drum, too. Many of the analyst community's favorite growth stocks fall within the technology sector, though they also spy opportunities within health care. Read on as we look at a group of seven stocks that the pros say have the fuel to keep rocketing higher.
To continue reading this article
please register for free
This is different from signing in to your print subscription
Why am I seeing this? Find out more here
Kyle Woodley is the Editor-in-Chief of WealthUp, a site dedicated to improving the personal finances and financial literacy of people of all ages. He also writes the weekly The Weekend Tea newsletter, which covers both news and analysis about spending, saving, investing, the economy and more.
Kyle was previously the Senior Investing Editor for Kiplinger.com, and the Managing Editor for InvestorPlace.com before that. His work has appeared in several outlets, including Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money, Barchart, The Globe & Mail and the Nasdaq. He also has appeared as a guest on Fox Business Network and Money Radio, among other shows and podcasts, and he has been quoted in several outlets, including MarketWatch, Vice and Univision. He is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University, where he earned a BA in journalism.
You can check out his thoughts on the markets (and more) at @KyleWoodley.
-
Is a Phased Retirement Right for You?
Want to keep working, just not as hard? A phased retirement may just be the answer.
By Kimberly Lankford Published
-
Four Tips to Make Your Sales Presentation a Winner
Being prepared and not being boring can go a long way toward persuading a potential customer to buy into what you’re offering.
By H. Dennis Beaver, Esq. Published
-
Stock Market Today: Markets Rebound Ahead of Big Week for Earnings
Equities rallied on easing geopolitical tensions, upcoming quarterly results.
By Dan Burrows Published
-
Stock Market Today: Nasdaq Spirals as Netflix Nosedives
A big earnings boom for credit card giant American Express helped the Dow notch another win.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Nasdaq Extend Losing Streaks
The two indexes have closed lower for five straight sessions.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Slips After Travelers' Earnings Miss
The property and casualty insurer posted a bottom-line miss as catastrophe losses spiked.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Stabilize After Powell's Rate-Cut Warning
The main indexes temporarily tumbled after Fed Chair Powell said interest rates could stay higher for longer.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Reverse Lower as Treasury Yields Spike
A good-news-is-bad-news retail sales report lowered rate-cut expectations and caused government bond yields to surge.
By Karee Venema Last updated
-
Amazon Eyes $2 Trillion Market Cap as CEO Talks AI, Cost Cuts
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy thinks there’s "a long way to go" in all of its businesses and that could be good for investors.
By Joey Solitro Published
-
Stock Market Today: Nasdaq Leads as Magnificent 7 Stocks Rise
Strength in several mega-cap tech and communication services stocks kept the main indexes higher Thursday.
By Karee Venema Published