Stock Market Today: Booming GDP Growth Triggers Another S&P Record
America's first-quarter economic growth eclipsed Kiplinger estimates, and jobless claims came in lower, too, helping spark more gains across the market Thursday.
![Concept art of the U.S. lit up at night](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6C7SntXesTUAC75NmsBMjV-415-80.jpg)
Stocks didn't take the most conventional path to gains Thursday, but they climbed the ladder nonetheless as the U.S. economy continued to flex its recovering muscles.
The Commerce Department revealed that U.S. GDP grew by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.4% during the first quarter of 2021, exceeding Kiplinger's forecast for 5.5% though coming in a little shy of consensus estimates for 6.7%.
"The report points to ongoing recovery and keeps the U.S. economy on track to recover to its pre-pandemic level by Q2 '21," says Barclays economist Pooja Sriram.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hwgJ7osrMtUWhk5koeVme7-200-80.png](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hwgJ7osrMtUWhk5koeVme7-320-80.png)
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.
"Personal consumption spending remained the main driver of growth, as we had anticipated," she says. "Private inventory investment subtracted from growth, reflecting a draw-down in stocks as consumption surged, while net exports also made a negative contribution amid stronger imports."
Adding fuel to the fire was a modest decline in weekly unemployment filings, to 553,000 from 570,000 the week prior.
Stocks spiked at the open Thursday, declined through midday, then recovered throughout the rest of the afternoon. Facebook (FB, +7.3%) helped power the S&P 500 (+0.7% to 4,211) to a fresh all-time high after announcing a 48% jump in Q1 revenues and a wide earnings beat. Apple (AAPL, -0.1%) reported a monster quarter, too, with sales up 54% and profits well ahead of analyst projections, but its advance was more muted thanks to a warning that the global chip shortage could dent current-quarter results.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.7% to 34,060) finished with a solid gain, while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.2% to 14,082) closed modestly higher.
Other action in the stock market today:
- Automaker Ford (F, -9.6%) reported better-than-expected profit and revenue in its first quarter, but it warned the global chip shortage could drag on full-year earnings.
- Disappointing guidance weighed on eBay (EBAY, -10.0%), too, even as the company beat top- and bottom-line estimates for Q1.
- In non-earnings news, Uber Technologies (UBER, -6.0%) and Lyft (LYFT, -9.9%) sold off dramatically today. Weighing on the ridesharing names were comments made by U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, who told Reuters that "gig workers should be classified as employees."
- The small-cap Russell 2000 finished 0.4% in the red to 2,295.
- U.S. crude oil futures spiked 1.8% higher to settle at $65.01 per barrel after today's economic data supported signs of an improving U.S. economy.
- Gold futures fell 0.3% to finish at $1,768.30 per ounce.
- The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) climbed 1.0% to 17,46.
- Bitcoin prices plunged 4.5% to $55,470. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m. each trading day.)
Sell in May? We Say "Nay Nay."
You can feel it, right?
You know what we're talking about.
The icy fear of potential underperformance that slaps investors across the face each year?
We mean the tired ol' "Sell in May" adage, rehashed annually because of the historical tendency for May-October returns to underachieve compared to November-April.
Here at Kiplinger? We think most investors are better off hanging around for all 12 months. And we're in good company.
"I've never been a fan of this adage," says legendary investment strategist Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research. "It doesn't always work, and even when it does, the investor is left with the problem of determining when to get back into the market."
Churning your portfolio can take its toll, whether in opportunity cost or emotional stress. Instead, entrench yourself in a few solid funds, and let the market's dogged progress over time do the work.
Whether you're looking to build the core of your portfolio or just add a few tactical positions, start your search with our recently updated "Kip" picks: Those who favor exchange-traded funds can consider our Kip ETF 20, while those who want humans at the helm might prefer the actively managed (but low-fee) mutual funds of the Kiplinger 25.
Get Kiplinger Today newsletter — free
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.
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.
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Outperforms After IBM Earnings
Investors also parsed a strong reading on second-quarter GDP and a dismal decline in durable goods.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Try the 6 to 1 Grocery Shopping Method to Save Time and Money
The 6 to 1 Grocery Method can help you save money, reduce waste and eat healthier.
By Erin Bendig Published
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Outperforms After IBM Earnings
Investors also parsed a strong reading on second-quarter GDP and a dismal decline in durable goods.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Ford Stock Plunges on Earnings Miss: What to Know
Ford stock is down big Thursday after the automaker fell short of earnings expectations for its second quarter. Here's what you need to know.
By Joey Solitro Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Tumble on Disappointing Big Tech Earnings
Poorly received quarterly results from Alphabet and Tesla sparked a steep selloff in equities.
By Dan Burrows Last updated
-
Stock Market Today: Mega-Cap Tech Rallies to Drag Markets Higher
Markets focused on upcoming earnings from Magnificent 7 stocks rather than chaos in D.C.
By Dan Burrows Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Tumble After Spectacular Global Internet Crash
Market participants rushed out of risk assets to end a wild week of trading.
By Dan Burrows Published
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Sinks 533 Points as Big Banks, Mega Caps Slump
Goldman Sachs and Apple were two of the worst-performing blue chip stocks on Thursday.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Semis Get Slammed and Blue Chips Bounce
The potential for more curbs on tech sales to China set off a rotation into blue chips.
By Dan Burrows Published
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Spikes 742 Points After UnitedHealth Earnings
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also scored wins Tuesday albeit with much smaller gains than the blue chip Dow.
By Karee Venema Published