Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Thursday

Advancers

• Shares of Ulta Beauty (ULTA) notched the biggest daily gain of any S&P 500 stock, soaring 11.2%. A regulatory filing from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) showed the legendary firm has 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:snapped up a stake in the cosmetics retailer. Berkshire also took a position in electronics company Heico (HEI), whose shares were up 1.1% on Thursday.
• After posting the heaviest losses in the S&P 500 on Monday and Wednesday, Albemarle (ALB) shares rebounded on Thursday, gaining 8.6%. The lithium producer has come under pressure as prices of the metal sputter, but Albemarle remains in a good position to benefit from an eventual recovery in the lithium market, and the stock's 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:dividend yield of over 2% may be attractive to some investors.
• Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shares added 8.6%, continuing to 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:mount a recovery from a 20% decline suffered last week when the server manufacturer reported 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:lower-than-expected quarterly pr🅷ofits and announced a 10-for-1 stock split. Following Thursday's gains, Supermicro stock has fully rebounded from the post-earnings plunge.

• Paramount Global (PARA) shares jumped 7.1% following multiple reports that media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. is set to make a bid for the entertainment giant. Bronfman's potential offer to buy Paramount and parent company National Amusements adds a new wrinkle to the story after months of negotiations with a variety of suitors for the film and TV business. Last month, Paramount agreed to the terms of a merger with production company Skydance Media after prolonged talks.

Decliners

• Shares of Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO), the financial analytics firm known for its credit scores, receded from an all-time high, tumbling 4.2% to log the weakest performance of any stock in the S&P 500 on Thursday. The loss followed filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosing that two key FICO executives have sold shares in the company. Investors often interpret sales by insiders as a lack of confidence in the company's upcoming performance.
• MarketAxess (MKTX) shares lost 2.9% on Thursday. The operator of a digital trading platform for fixed-income securities posted mixed results in its quarterly report released last week, topping profit forecasts but missing sales estimates. Diminished trading activity of U.S. high-yield bonds and elevated expenses weighed on the firm's performance.
• Telecom stocks came under pressure after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) fined operator T-Mobile (TMUS) $60 million for its failure to block and disclose unauthorized access to sensitive data. The fine relates to incidents that occurred after T-Mobile, which is majority owned by Germany's Deutsche Telekom, completed its acquisition of U.S.-based Sprint Corporation. T-Mobile shares slid 1.0%, while shares of rival AT&T (T) fell 2.8%.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Michael Bromberg

Time for the 'S&P 493' to Shine?

After July's stumble by the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Magnificent Seven mega-capitalization tech stocks that accounted for mꦡost of the market's first-half gains, investors may be itching to branch out from the group. For that, they may want to consider the “S&P 493," according to Bank of America Securities.

That in effect means the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:equal-weighted S&P 500, in which the Magnificent Seven have much less influence over the index. Measured that way, the index trades near its steepest discount relative to the capitalization-weighted index since the height of the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:tech bubble in the early 2000s.

The equal-weighted index’s 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:forward price-to-earnings ratio is about 80% that of the cap-weighted standard, according to a Wednesday BofA research note. The discount would be even larger if tech mega-caps hadn’t led the market pullback throu💝ghout July and early August.

The gap is in part due to rebounding corpora🐠te earnings. Excluding the Mag Seven, the S&P 500 was, as of Wednesday, on track to grow second✅-quarter earnings by 8%, its first quarter of growth since 2022. 

Read the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:full story here.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Colin Laidley

Major Indexes Poised to Extend Winning Streaks

The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 are set to finish higher Thursday for the sixth straight session, while the Dow Jones Industrial average is poised to close with gains for the fifth time in♊ six trading days.

The Nasdaq has led the gainers over th♏ose six sessions, up about 8.5% since the close on August 7, while the S&P ဣ500 has tacked on 6.5% and the Dow has added 4.5%, as of mid-afternoon Thursday.

Walmart Earnings, Retail Sales Data Lift Retailer Stocks

Walmart’s (WMT) strong e♔arnings report sent its shares up more than 6% to a record high, while boosting optimism 🧔among discounter investors on Thursday.

Shares of competitor Target (TGT) climbed more 4% in afternoon trading, as did shares of Dollar Tree (DLTR), while Ross Stores (ROST) rose more than 3%. 

Walmart has grown its customer base i🌌n recent years, attracting higher-income shoppers who’ve become increasingly cost-conscious after years of elevated inflation and economic uncertainty. Its strong earnings report and financial outlook suggested that the trend is far from ending. 

Retailer stocks also benefitted Thursday from better-than-expected 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:U.S. retail sales numbers for July. Stocks such as lululemon athletica (LULU), Etsy (ETSY), and Best Buy (BBY) also moved higher.

The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) jumped more than 4% and likely would have risen even more if it was a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:capitalization-weighted fund.

With a market cap of nearly $600 billion, Walmart is worth $200 billion more than America’s next-most valuable retailer, Costco (COST), yet they each account for about 1.4% of the index. Costco was up 1.3% in recent trading, while Amazon.com (AMZN), the largest company in XRT, rose about 4%.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Colin Laidley

Nike Rises on News of Ackman Stake

Billionaire investor Bill Ac💞kman built a new stake in Nike (NKE) during the second quarter, according to a regulatory 🦩filing, sending shares in the sportswear maker up around 4% Thursday morning.

The SEC filing showed Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management had built a stake of more than 3 million shares at the end of June worth about $230 million.

Nike has been struggling with 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:falling sales amid a slowing Chinese economy and rising competi🎶tion from upstarts like Hokaꦡ.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Nisha Gopalan

Ulta Beauty Gets Buffett Boost

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) shares surged Thursday after澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网: a regu🐬latory filing late Wednesday revealed that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) had taken a stake in the cosmetics retailer during the second quarter꧙.

According to a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:13-F filing, the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Omaha-based conglomerate purchased 690,106 shares of Ulta Beauty, with the size of the holding valued ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚaround $266.3 million as of June 30.

Berkshire’s investment comes as welcome news for shareholders in the specialty chain, whose share price, as of the close of trading Wednesday, had fallen 42⛄% since the stock recorded its record high in March. In May, the company lowered its full-year fiscal 2024 outlook amid moderating demand

The st⛦ock was up 10% at $363.15 in recent tr🍬ading.

According to our technical analysis, which you can 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:read here, investors should watch key chart෴ levels at $373, $406, $440, and $4𒁃87.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Timothy Smith

Walmart Soars to Record High on Earnings Beat, Outlook Boost

Walmart (WMT) shares jumped Thursday as 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:the retail giant reported better-than-expected second-quarter fiscal 2025 sales and adjusted 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:earnings per share (EPS), leading the company to lift its out🌱look for the fulꦓl year.

Walmart posted total revenue up nearly 5% year-over-year to $169.33 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.67, both better than 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:analysts' estimates

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Comparable store sales grew across Walmart's divisions. Comparable sal🃏es at Walmart U.S. rose 4.2% year-over-year, Walmart International jumped 8.3%, while membership-only Sam's Club added 5.2%.

Walmart lifted its full-year guidance in respons🐼e to the sales numbers, now projecting revenue to rise 3.75% to 4.75% from 3% to 4% previously. Walmart also raised its profit projections, expecting adjusted EPS between $2.35 to $2.43, versus $2.23 to $2.37 previously.

Walmart shares hit an all-time high Thursday morning and were up 6% in recent trading.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Aaron McDade

Cisco Jumps After Strong Earnings, Job Cuts

Shares in Cisco Systems (CSCO) jumped in premarket trading Thursday after the technology and networking 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:company released earnings♒ that topped Wall Street’s estimates and announced that it’s cutting 7% of its global workforce.

The tech giant, which has seen its shares slump by around 10% since the start of the year through Wednesday's close, also said it plans to invest in key growth opportunities as it looks to diversify its revenue. In recent quarters, net sales in the company’s core networking business have remained under pressure as enterprise customers continue to move their computing operations to the cloud.

Cisco shares we﷽re up 7.9% at $49.03 about 30 minutes🅷 before the opening bell Thursday.

The share price broke below the neckline of a head and shoulders pattern earlier this month, but lackluster trad🌺ing volumeജs indicate a lack of conviction behind the move.

Cisco shares could run into overhead resistance at key chart levels including $48.50, $🍌50, $52.50, 𒐪and $58.

Read our full 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:technical analysis here.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Timothy Smith

Futures Tied to Major Indexes Higher Ahead of Economic Data

Futures tied to💯 the Dow Jones Industrial Averaওge were up 0.3%.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.3%.