Stock Market Today: Nasdaq Nabs First Record Close Since 2021
While the main indexes were choppy Thursday, tech stocks Snowflake and Okta made major moves.


Stocks opened higher Thursday as Wall Street panned the latest inflation update, which came in not as bad as other recent readings on the same topic. The main indexes lost some steam midday, but managed a quick recovery with the Nasdaq Composite nabbing its first record close since November 2021.
Ahead of the open, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said the Personal Consumption and Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed's preferred inflation indicator that measures consumer spending, was up 0.3% from December to January – higher than the previous month's 0.1% rise, but in line with economists' expectations.
The 2.4% annual rise in PCE came in below the 2.6% increase from December and was the lowest reading since February 2021.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free 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.
Core PCE, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was higher than December on a monthly basis (0.4% vs 0.1%), but lower year-over-year (2.8% vs 2.9%). Both figures matched what economists were anticipating.
The data also showed that consumer spending cooled in January, rising 0.2% month-over-month vs a 0.7% increase in December. Personal income, meanwhile, jumped 1% in January, much higher than December's 0.3% gain.
Ian Shepherdson, chairman and chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, sees no reason "to change our big picture view that core inflation is falling and will continue to slide, thanks to the pass-through from slowing wage gains, improving supply chains, and margin recompression."
However, Shepherdson notes that the Fed will likely delay the first rate cut until June or beyond given that it's "hyper-cautious" after its incorrect calls in 2021 that elevated inflation would be "transitory," as well as hotter-than-expected Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) readings of late.
Indeed, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, futures traders are now pricing in a 19% chance that the first quarter-point cut to interest rates will come in May and a 53% probability that it will occur in June.
Snowflake spirals 18% as CEO retires
In single-stock news, Snowflake (SNOW) was one of the worst performers Wednesday, tumbling 18.1% after earnings. There were plenty of good things in the cloud-based data platform's fourth-quarter report, including a 32% year-over-year (YoY) surge in revenue to $774.7 million and a 39% increase in the number of customers with trailing 12-month product revenue of $1 million or more. And for the full year, product revenue hit $2.7 billion, up 38% YoY.
But shares spiraled after Snowflake gave weaker-than-anticipated first-quarter revenue guidance and announced the departure of CEO Frank Slootman. The executive has been in the top spot since 2019 and helped take the company public in 2020. Slootman will be replaced by Sridhar Ramaswamy, a former Google ad exec and current senior vice president of AI at Snowflake.
The tech stock happens to be a member of the Berkshire Hathaway equity portfolio, with Warren Buffett & Co. even having a stake in its initial public offering (IPO) in 2020. SNOW has generated a negative return as a publicly traded company thus far.
Okta gets a double upgrade after earnings
On the other side of the coin was Okta (OKTA), which surged 22.9% after earnings. The cloud-based cybersecurity firm said total revenue rose 19% year-over-year in the fourth quarter thanks to a 20% jump in subscription revenue. Additionally, Okta expects revenue to grow 16% to 17% in the first quarter and 10% to 11% in the current fiscal year.
BofA Securities analyst Madeline Brooks says Okta's full-year guidance is "overly conservative, which could drive upwards estimate revisions throughout the year and warrant positive rerating of the stock." As such, she double-upgraded the tech stock to Buy from Underperform (the equivalent of Sell).
As for the main indexes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%% to 38,996, while the S&P 500 (+0.5% at 5,096) and the Nasdaq Composite (+0.9% at 16,091) finished at new record closes. All three indexes finished February higher. For the Dow and S&P 500, it was the best start to the year (January + February returns) since 2019.
Related content
- Verizon's Latest Bundle Offers Netflix and AMC Plus for $25.99
- When Is the Next Jobs Report?
- Kiplinger's Earnings Calendar for This Week
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.
-
Market Fees Could Be Costing You — Here’s How to Avoid Them
Some money market accounts charge more than they earn. Here's how to spot costly fees and choose smarter savings options.
-
The Role of a Mortgage Underwriter in Buying a Home
From fast-track approvals to manual reviews, here’s what to expect (and how to avoid delays) in the underwriting process.
-
Alphabet Stock Pops After Google Antitrust Ruling: What to Know
GOOGL stock is soaring Wednesday after a judge ruled that Alphabet does not have to divest its Chrome browser.
-
7 Mistakes to Avoid When You First Start Investing
Investing brings the opportunity to build wealth, but there are plenty of mistakes that can be made. Here are seven common ones and how they can be avoided.
-
A Fidelity Fund Misses Out on Soaring Bank Stocks
The Fidelity International Growth Fund has outperformed over the long term, but its lagging exposure to bank stocks has weighed on more recent returns.
-
More Than Money: The Hidden Toll of Financial Abuse of Older Adults
Financial abuse from schemes involving tech support, government impostors, false sweepstakes, grandchild hoaxes and online shopping issues can cause thousands of dollars in losses.
-
I'm a Financial Planner: Here Are Three High-Impact Ways to Make a Difference With Your Dollars
The world often feels out of control, but here are three ways to use your money — through investments, charitable giving and political donations — to help create a more just and sustainable future.
-
Stocks Slide to Start September: Stock Market Today
Seasonal trends suggest tough times for the stock market as we round into the end of the third quarter.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Sherwin-Williams Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
Sherwin-Williams stock has clobbered the broader market by a wide margin for a long time.
-
Where is the Foreign Dividend Boom Headed?
It's been a golden six months for foreign dividend stocks, but can any be relied on for predictable income going forward? Here are some options.