Tech stocks lifted the Nasdaq to a small gain Thursday, but rival gauges slipped
US Stocks drifted like a summer breeze on Thursday before settling mixed, portraying investors who’ve fixed their positions ahead of Friday’s US jobs report. The Nasdaq composite index, led by the world’s largest tech companies, continued to charm the market and settled up 0.4%, while the S&P 500 Index slipped 0.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.3%.
Q2 2022 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
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Trading across the S&P 500's 11 industry sectors was mixed as energy fell, reflecting WTI crude oil's first trade under $90 a barrel since the Russian war in Ukraine began in February.
Ride-sharing firm LYFT (NASDAQ:LYFT) reported record results and its shares jumped 4.7 percent on Thursday.
It seems Americans who got used to having their food delivered during the dog days of the COVID-19 pandemic don't want to break that habit. DoorDash (NYSE:DASH) shares rose 18% after hours trading when it reported that it beat Wall Street's top-line expectations but posted a wider than expected loss.
On the economic front, The Labor Department said Thursday that initial jobless claims climbed 260,000 on July 30, meeting estimates. And according to S & P Global Market Intelligence, US bankruptcies fell in July to 31 from June's 40. That's the fewest since 2010.
Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID) fell nearly 10% after the electric vehicle firm cut its full year production estimate in half; the second downward revision this year. The company previously cut its outlook in Feb. and expects to make 6,000 to 7,000 units this year.
Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) shares ended off 16.3% as investors punished the company after it modestly beat earnings estimates, but its outlook landed with a thud.
Williams Cos. (NYSE:WMS) shares fell 2.2% on Thursday. Earlier, the company said it had invested in Aurora Hydrogen, a company developing a technology to generate hydrogen fuel for vehicles and industry that converts natural gas to hydrogen without generating carbon dioxide emissions.
"Hydrogen production from the Aurora technology has the potential to reduce global CO2 emission significantly while using less electricity than other methods of hydrogen production and avoiding the need for CO2 sequestration," Williams said. "Additionally, the process does not require water as a feedstock, preserving another critical resource."
Facebook parent Meta (NASDAQ:META) tapped the corporate bond market for the first time on Thursday.
A US Securities and Exchange Commission filing said it would sell about $10 billion of debt, ranging in maturity from five to 40 years. Various news services reported that the company had already received orders for $30 billion, making it three times oversold.
META shares closed up 1.05%.
eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) shares fell five percent after the online auctioneer said its users are pulling back. It acknowledged that despite advertising and marketing campaigns, it posted a second-quarter loss compared to a year ago profit. It didn't end there, as the company added it sees gross merchandise volume falling up to 12% this year.
"Our business has remained resilient in recent months despite escalating macro headwinds, but the operating environment remains dynamic and difficult to predict," Chief Financial Officer Steve Priest said.
Booking Holdings' (NASDAQ:BKNG) mobile app in the second quarter, and consumers said its apps hosted a record number of monthly active users. They are the strongest repeat customers, outspending its website and mobile website. Booking shares fell just under one percent.
More inflation's on investors' minds again. American household products icon Clorox (NYSE:CLX) said it expects to raise prices starting "in more earnest in the fiscal year 2023," Linda Rendle, its CEO, said on a fiscal fourth quarter earnings call. The firm has already raised prices three times in twelve months.
Clorox shares fell 4.7%
Article by Greg Morcroft, Fintel
