U.S. stocks were mixed on Thursday, as the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 index futures diverged, following Wednesday’s higher close.
Iran’s Security Chief Mohsen Rezaee said on Wednesday that Tehran had inflicted a political defeat on President Donald Trump, portraying the Republicans’ losses in the midterm elections as another consequence of Washington’s war with Iran. Axios reported on Wednesday that the U.S. military is wrapping up preparations for a potential return to major combat operations in Iran, including deploying additional military assets to the region.
Qatar is attempting to secure Washington and Tehran’s backing for a draft agreement that could prevent renewed fighting and potentially restart direct negotiations in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.87%, and the 2-year Treasury bond yielded 4.58%, at the last check. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool projections show markets pricing in a 79.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates after its December meeting.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY), the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA), which track the S&P 500 index, Nasdaq 100 index and Dow Jones Industrial Average, respectively, were mixed in premarket trading on Thursday. The SPY was up 0.026% at $767.01, the QQQ declined 0.57% to $688.00, and the DIA rose 0.49% to $535.72.
Stocks In Focus
Toyota Motor
- Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM) was 8.07% higher in premarket trading on Thursday after it declared an interim dividend of $0.32 per share (¥50) versus $0.28 per share (¥45) a year earlier and said it maintained its full-year dividend forecast at $0.63 per share (¥100).
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TM maintains a positive price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a strong value score.
ARM Holdings
- ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:ARM) was 3.41% lower in premarket trading on Thursday despite beating second-quarter estimates. It reported earnings of $0.52 per share on revenue of $1.44 billion.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that ARM maintains a negative price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor value score.
Qualcomm
- Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) was 9.83% lower in premarket trading on Thursday after it reported fourth-quarter 2026 earnings of $2.17 per share on revenue of $10.32 billion, beating estimates.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that QCOM maintains a negative price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a strong quality score.
Palo Alto Networks
- Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) was 1.28% lower in premarket trading as it is reportedly negotiating the acquisition of Israeli cybersecurity startup Clutch Security for approximately $500 million. This acquisition would be Palo Alto’s fifth announcement of the year as it aims to enhance its product offerings in response to emerging AI-related security threats.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that PANW maintains a negative price trend in the short and medium terms but a positive price trend in the long term, with a poor growth score.
Airbnb
- Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) was 0.39% lower in premarket trading on Thursday as analysts expect third-quarter 2026 earnings of $2.85 per share on revenue of $4.75 billion after the closing bell.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that ABNB maintains a positive price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a strong momentum score.
Cues From Last Session
U.S. stocks closed higher on Wednesday, with consumer discretionary, financials, and communication services leading and energy, industrials, and information technology lagging. The Dow gained over 1500 points.
Insights From Analysts
CNBC host Jim Cramer said Wednesday that the post-election rally may not last as investors await the Labor Department’s employment data. He said election-driven trading could reverse when the nonfarm payrolls report arrives Friday, adding, “We could see a repeal of so much of this move that I hesitate to guess where we go next.” Cramer also said, “The elections did not upend the business cycle,” and urged investors to “never confuse” short-term stock moves for broader economic reality.
Jeff Buchbinder, LPL Financial chief equity strategist, said markets should focus on earnings, economic growth and AI investment after the midterms, adding that the S&P 500 has gained an average of 15.1% in the 12 months following midterm elections since 1950, with positive returns in all 19 periods.
He said the setup this cycle was not one for as much market volatility as in history, noting the average pre-midterms drawdown in the S&P 500 has been 17% and “this year we’ve gotten 9%.” Buchbinder also said divided government takes major sweeping tax and spending policies off the table and may imply less Treasury supply pressure and tempered rate volatility.
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Thursday.
- Preliminary third-quarter productivity and costs data, along with initial jobless claims for the week ending Oct. 31, will be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
- Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack will speak at 8:50 a.m. ET.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude Oil WTI futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.57% to hover around $88.62 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 1.53% to hover around $96.07 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 1.50% to hover around $4,126.19 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.01% higher at the 101.4824 level.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading at $80,425 per coin lower by 2.48% lower over the last 24 hours.
Asian markets were mixed on Thursday, as Australia’s ASX 200, India’s Nifty 50, China’s CSI 300, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indices rose. South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 indices fell. European markets were higher in early trading.
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