Stocks Edge Higher As Earnings Provide Support, Tesla Sinks To 15-Month Lows, Bitcoin Rebounds: What's Driving Markets Thursday?

Stocks surged higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 index aiming to snap a four-day losing streak as investors assess the latest wave of corporate earnings.

During midday trading in New York, all major indices were in the green. Notably, small caps, as tracked by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM, outperformed, posting a 1% increase.

Industry-wise, airline stocks continued their upward momentum, with the U.S. Global Jets ETF JETS climbing 2.7%, building on Wednesday’s 3.9% surge.

Tesla Inc. TSLA had another lackluster session, declining over 3% and on track for its lowest close since January 2023. This decline followed Deutsche Bank’s downgrade of the EV-maker from Buy to Hold, citing concerns over the strategic pivot to autonomous vehicles.

On the data front, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index posted a sharp upside surprise, registering at 15.5 compared to the expected 1.5 for April. However, existing home sales disappointed expectations, declining 4.3% year over year.

Commodities experienced a rebound, with copper witnessing strong gains, up over 2% to reach a 22-month high, and gold showing further strength with a 1% increase. Natural gas prices rallied over 3% due to slower than expected inventory builds last week.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin BTC/USD rallied 4% to reach $63,700 ahead of the highly anticipated halving event.

Thursday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY rose 0.4% to $502.25, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA also rose 0.4% to $379.08 and the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ inched 0.2% up to $426.62, according to Benzinga Pro data. 

Sector-wise, the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund XLC outperformed, up 1.2%. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK was the major laggard, down 0.4%.

Thursday’s Stock Movers

• Discovery Financial Services DFS rose 3.6% following the company’s first quarter results. Peer Capital One Company COF mimicked the move ahead of next week’s earnings release.
• Other stocks reacting to earnings were Genuine Parts Company GPC, up over 12%, Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK, up over 5%, Blackstone Inc. BX, down 2%, Comerica, Inc. CMA, up over 3%, Ally Financial Inc. ALLY, up over 8%, D.R. Horton, Inc. DHI, up over 2%, KeyCorp KEY, down 0.4%, and Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. MMC, up over 3%.
• Notable names reporting after the close are Intuitive Surgical, Inc. ISRG and Netflix Inc. NFLX.

Image generated using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.