Stock Market Today: Stocks Push Higher Ahead of Powell's Jackson Hole Speech
Today's economic data showed a one-month low in weekly jobless claims and an upward revision to Q2 GDP.
Stocks gained ground Thursday as investors sized up a pair of not-so-bad economic reports ahead of tomorrow's appearance by Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the central bank's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
This morning, the Labor Department said that weekly jobless claims fell to a one-month low of 243,000 last week, down from the previous week's revised 245,000. A separate report from the Commerce Department showed gross domestic product (GDP) declined 0.6% in the second quarter, an improvement over the 0.9% drop seen in the initial reading that was released last month – a reading that sparked plenty of recession chatter around Wall Street.
But all eyes remain on Jackson Hole. "As we await Chair Powell tomorrow, other officials have started on the media circuit," says Michael Reinking, senior market strategist at the New York Stock Exchange. "The tone of the commentary has been hawkish but has been very much in line with what we've heard post the [July] Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The key themes have centered around remaining committed to taming inflation." Reinking adds that while most central bank officials are holding monetary policy decisions for September's Fed meeting "close to the vest" as they wait for the next round of economic data, they are also hinting that we're not quite at a level where they can stop hiking rates.
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.
Today's gains were broad-based, with the materials (+2.3%) and the communication services (+2.0%) sectors faring the best. As for the major indexes, the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.7% to 12,639, the S&P 500 Index climbed 1.4% to 4,199, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average tacked on 1.0% to 33,291.
Other news in the stock market today:
- The small-cap Russell 2000 rose 1.5% to 1,964.
- Gold futures rose 0.6% to settle at $1,771.40 an ounce.
- Bitcoin slipped 0.3% to $21,611.45. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.)
- Peloton Interactive (PTON) stock plunged 18.3% after the at-home exercise equipment maker reported earnings. In its fiscal fourth quarter, PTON recorded a net loss of $3.68 per share, compared to a loss of $1.05 per share one year ago. Revenue slumped 28% to $678.7 million, falling short of analysts' consensus estimate. It was the company's sixth straight quarter of reporting a loss, though it said it is looking to breakeven on a cash-flow basis in the second half of fiscal 2023. Today's sharp selloff comes one day after PTON stock surged more than 20% after announcing a deal with Amazon.com (AMZN).
- Snowflake (SNOW) surged 23.1% after the cloud data platform reported higher-than-expected second-quarter revenue of $497 million. "July quarter results were exceptional and helped remove fears around a more protracted slowdown in data consumption across key customers following a stretch of mixed quarterly reports," says CFRA Research analyst David Holt. "Second-quarter revenues were $497M (+83% Y/Y), clearing consensus of $467M, as strength in financial services led to the beat." However, Holt kept a Hold rating on SNOW. "Following today's gap higher in shares, we prefer to wait and see if the macro/market environment allows for a continuation of improved trends – we note comparables get progressively harder in the back-half of fiscal 2023 in terms of product revenues and remaining performance obligations (RPOs)."
Is it Time to Buy Energy Stocks?
Oil prices had another miserable day, but energy stocks could still have some fuel left in the tank. U.S. crude futures fell 2.5% today to settle at $92.52 per barrel, and are now down more than 24% from their mid-June highs above $122.
Still, Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist at independent broker-dealer LPL Financial, says there are three conditions currently in place for the energy sector that are creating a "potential attractive opportunity" for investors. Specifically, Buchbinder believes some of the best investment opportunities occur when the following circumstances are unfolding: "1) the market is pricing in a pessimistic outlook in the form of lower valuations, 2) earnings estimates are being revised higher and growth is accelerating, and 3) technical analysis indicators suggest an impending rebound." The strategist sees all three conditions present in energy stocks right now.
If that's not enough to convince you, Buchbinder says to "Follow Warren." By this he means Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) holding company has been big buyers of oil & gas stocks in 2022. With that in mind, take a look at seven energy stocks that could be among the best ideas for investors for the remainder of this year.
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
With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
Stock Market Today: Nasdaq Soars Ahead of Tesla Earnings
The EV stock rose nearly 2% ahead of its highly anticipated Q1 earnings report, due after tonight's close.
By Karee Venema Published
-
GM Stock Accelerates After Earnings Beat
General Motors beat expectations for the first quarter and raised its outlook for the year. Here's what you need to know.
By Joey Solitro Published
-
Stock Market Today: Nasdaq Soars Ahead of Tesla Earnings
The EV stock rose nearly 2% ahead of its highly anticipated Q1 earnings report, due after tonight's close.
By Karee Venema 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
-
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