Stock Market Today: Dow Closes Higher as Salesforce Pops
Salesforce was the best Dow Jones stock today on news ValueAct Capital increased its stake in the SaaS firm.


Joey Solitro
Stocks struggled for direction Thursday as anticipation built ahead of tomorrow's key jobs report. This week's labor market updates have lifted expectations for a September rate cut, making Friday morning's release of the latest payrolls data even more important.
Today, though, weekly jobless claims were in focus. According to the Labor Department, initial claims rose by 8,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 229,000 – their highest level in a month and more than economists were expecting.
Investors hope the Federal Reserve will follow in the footsteps of the Bank of Canada and the European Central Bank (ECB), which issued their first rate cuts this week. According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, futures traders are not expecting the Fed to make any change to the federal funds rate at its June and July meetings. However, the odds of a September rate cut have risen to 57% from last week's 45% probability.

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.
José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, is expecting a miss in the monthly jobs report, "with the headline figure arriving at 165,000 alongside wage growth of 0.3% and the unemployment rate ticking up to 4%." However, these figures will likely "bolster rate-reduction projections further," he adds.
Lululemon rallies after earnings; Five Below stumbles
In single-stock news, Lululemon Athletica (LULU) stock rallied 4.8% after the athletic apparel maker beat top- and bottom-line expectations in its fiscal first quarter and announced a $1 billion increase to its stock buyback program.
"Although the company is experiencing growth deceleration in the Americas, we continue to believe LULU is the top player in apparel retail and expect an acceleration in growth across the Americas and continued success in China (+45% in Q1) and internationally," said CFRA Research analyst Zachary Warring, who maintained a Strong Buy rating on the consumer discretionary stock.
Five Below (FIVE) stock was one of the biggest losers Thursday. It fell 10.6% after the discount retailer missed expectations for its fiscal first quarter and slashed its full-year outlook, citing "underperformance in the lower-income demographic."
Elsewhere, Microsoft (MSFT) stock erased earlier losses to close up up 0.1%. The stock was in focus today after a report in The Wall Street Journal said the Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether the technology giant structured a recent deal with startup Inflection AI to avoid an antitrust review.
Salesforce leads Dow Jones stocks after ValueAct increases its stake
MSFT was hardly the the best Dow Jones stock today. That honor went to Salesforce (CRM), which rose 2.6% on news ValueAct Capital increased its stake in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm.
According to a regulatory filing released late Wednesday, the activist investor bought an additional 428,000 shares of CRM following the stock's post-earnings tumble. ValueAct now owns 3.9 million CRM shares.
Thanks to CRM stock's gains, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2% to 38,886. The S&P 500, meanwhile, slipped 0.02% to 5,352, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.09% to 17,173.
Related content
- Qualified Dividends vs Ordinary Dividends: What To Know
- Kiplinger's Economic Calendar for This Week
- Is Investing In Gold Worth It? How Gold Prices Have Changed
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.
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 a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
- Joey SolitroContributor
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Are Mixed Before Liberation Day
Markets look forward to what comes with the reordering of 80-year-old global trade relationships.
By David Dittman Published
-
Stagflation: What It Is and Why Retirees Should Care
Stagflation — the economic bogeyman of the 1970's — may return to the US. Here's what it could mean to your retirement.
By Donna Fuscaldo Published
-
Stock Market Today: It's the Old Up-Down Again on Liberation Day
Markets look forward to what comes with the reordering of 80-year-old global trade relationships.
By David Dittman Published
-
Can a New Manager Cure Vanguard Health Care Fund?
Vanguard Health Care Fund has assets of $40.5 billion but has been ailing in recent years. With a new manager in charge, what's the prognosis?
By Nellie S. Huang Published
-
What You Don't Know About Annuities Can Hurt You
Lack of awareness leads many to overlook these potent financial tools, and with the possibility of running out of money in retirement, that could really hurt.
By Ken Nuss Published
-
Three Keys to Logical Investing When Markets Are Volatile
Focusing on these market fundamentals can help investors stay grounded rather than being swayed by emotion or market hysteria.
By Dennis D. Coughlin, CFP, AIF Published
-
Yes, the Markets Are Spooked, But You Don't Have to Be
It's human nature for investors to freak out in a downturn. But with a little discipline, you can overcome the urge to sell and stay focused on long-term goals.
By Jimmy Lee, IAR Published
-
Remembering Bogle: A New Standard for Municipal Investing
Improvements in technology, data, systematic trading and risk analytics have led to more successful municipal indexing.
By Paul Malloy Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Are Mixed Before Liberation Day
Markets are getting into the freewheeling rhythm of a second Trump administration.
By David Dittman Published
-
How to Invest in Sports
If it's springtime, Forbes is out with its annual list of baseball franchise values. The billions involved might make you wonder how to invest in sports.
By David Dittman Published