Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Thursday

Advancers

• Micron Technology (MU) shares secured Thursday's top performance in the S&P 500, skyrocketing 14.7% after the memory chip maker 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:beat revenue estimates and provided higher-than-expected sales guidance for the current quarter. The Nvidia (NVDA) partner nearly doubled its revenue from the year-ago period, with strong artificial intelligence (AI) demand helping underpin the strong sales growth. The firm's CEO said Micron's competitive positioning has reached its highest point in company history.

• Circuit board manufacturer Jabil (JBL) also reported 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:strong quarterly results, topping sales and profit estimates for its fiscal fourth quarter. Like Micron, Jabil benefitted from strong AI demand during the quarter. The electronics manufacturer and Apple (AAPL) supplier also approved a $1 billion 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:share repurchase plan and announced several cost-cutting initiatives. Jabil shares jumped 11.7% on Thursday.
• Shares of beauty products company Estée Lauder (EL) popped 10.0% higher following the announcement of an economic stimulus in China. The makeup maker generates around a third of its revenue from the Asia/Pacific region. However, in its most recent earnings report, Estée Lauder pointed to softness in the prestige beauty market in China as a key factor behind its 2% year-over-year decline in organic net sales. Any improvement in consume♑r sentiment that results from the stimulus could flow through to increased consumer spending and help drive a sales recovery for Estée Lauder in the key market.

Decliners

• Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shares plunged 12.2%, falling further than any other S&P 500 stock on Thursday. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched an investigation into th▨e server and data storage provider's accoun෴ting practices. News of the DOJ probe follows a report published last month by activist short-selling firm Hindenburg Research alleging that Supermicro had engaged in accounting manipulation.
• Crude oil futures prices fell more than 3% amid reports that Saudi Arabia and other major producers are prepared to increase oil output in December, pressuring oil and gas stocks. Diamondback Energy (FANG) stock slid 6.5%, with news that insiders sold more than $2.3 billion worth of in the exploration and production company.
• Softness in natural gas prices also dragged on companies in that part of the energy sector. Shares of natural gas players Targa Resources (TRGP) and Oneok (OKE) were down around 5.9%.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Michael Bromberg

Estée Lauder Jumps on China Stimulus News

Shares of beauty products manufacturer Estée Lauder (EL) surged Thursday, lifted by continued optimism about China's efforts to shore up its slumping economy with an 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:economic stimulus package.

China's moves, which so far include lowering interest rates and reducing reserve requirements for banks—and may go even further—have 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:helped provide a boost to U.S.-listed Chinese stocks, as wel𝓡l as shares of companies with a significant consumer-facing business presence in the world's second-largest economy.

China is a critical market for Estée Lauder. In its most 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:recent quarterly earnings data, released in August, the cosmetics firm reported that roughly a third of its net sales came from the Asia/Pacific region. The company said🍨 weakness in mainland China was the primary driver of a 3% year-over-year drop in Asia/Pacific net sales during the quarter.

In particular, the makeup maker pointed to softness in China's prestige beauty market. Weak consumer sentiment in China has dragged on sales in the prestige category, and the company expects declines in the segment to persist throughout the current fiscal year.

Concerns about sales in China have been a primary source of pressure on Estée Lauder shares in 2024. Even after the solid gains on Thursday, the stock remains down roughly 30% this year.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Michael Bromberg

Meta's AI Ambitions Make it a Top Pick, Analysts Say

JPMorgan and Jefferies analysts said Meta's (META) AI and metaverse ambitions make it a top pick after the tech giant's Connect event keynote Wednesday, where Meta 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:unveiled several new 🎉products and AI feat💞ures.

The analysts said the event showcased Meta's progress in monetizing AI and made them more bullish on the stock, with JPMorgan analysts writing Thursday that they believe Meta has "earned the ri𒆙ght to spend big on AI," given its "early AI benefits in both engagement and🌜 monetization."

Jefferies analysts added that Meta's "proven ability to successfully scale & monetize new products" added to their confidence in Meta's "new AI future."

JPMorgan lifted its price objective for Meta's stock to $640 from $610, while Jefferies maintained its target of $600, representing about a 5.7% to 12.7% premium above Thursday's closing price of $567.84. Both targets were higher than the analyst consensus of $587.66 compiled by Visible Alpha, though all but one of the 31 analysts surveyed held a "buy" or equivalent rating for the stock.

Meta shares finished slightly lower Thursday after hitting a record intraday high earlier in the session. They've gained about 60% since the start of the year.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Aaron McDade

Jabil Jumps on Strong Results, Job Cuts and Stock Buyback

Jabil (JBL) shares soared Thursday after the circuit board manufacturer posted better-than-expected results on 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:artificial intelligence (AI) demand, authorized a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:stock buyback program, and launched a restructuring t♛ha𒁃t includes job cuts.

The company, which supplies Apple (AAPL), reported fourth-quarter adjusted 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:earnings per share (EPS) of $2.30, ahead of consensus forecasts of analysts polled by Visible Alpha. Revenue fell 17.7% year-over-year 🐽to $6.96 billion, reflecting the loss from the divestiture of its Mobility division last December, but that still beat estimates.

Despite Thursday afternoon's nearly 12% gains, shares of Jabil remain slightly lower year-to-date.

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:Bill McColl

Supermicro Plunges on Report of Federal Accounting Probe

Shares of Super Micro Computer (SMCI) plunged Thursday on🃏 a report that the U.𒊎S. Department of Justice is investigating the server maker over possible accounting and other violations.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the probe came after well-known 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:short seller Hindenberg Research 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:claimed last month that it saw "fresh evidence of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:accounting manipulation, sibling self-dealing and sanctions evaꦑsion" at Supermicro.

Hindenberg said in the report that it uncovered "glaring accounting red flags, evidence of undisclosed 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:related party transactions,⛦ sanctions and export coﷺntrol failures, and customer issues."

The Journal said that officials appear to be looking into accusations from a former employee who filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the company and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Charles Liang in April, charging Supermicro with 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:improper accounting. 

Last month, Supermicro announced that it would 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:delay the release of its annual report, saying that management needed additional time "to complete its assessment of the design and operating effectiveness of its 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:internal controls over financial reporting a🌌s of June 30🍃, 2024."

Super Micro Computer shares hit an 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:all-time high in March, quadrupling in value൲ fo✨r the year at that point as the company benefited from the AI boom. However, the stock has lost ground since, although it remains up about 40% in 2024.

Shares were down about 11% in recent trading.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Bill McColl

Volatile Month for Nvidia Stock Continues

The volatile month for shares of Nvidia (NVDA) continued Thursday, as the stock surged in early trading only to slip into negativ📖e territory in the afternoon.

The chip-maker’s shares, the year’s second-best performers in the S&P 500, rose more than 3% in the opening minutes of Thursday's session to trade near $127. That put them substantially above the roughly $119 at which they finished August, marking a recovery from September intraday lows near $101. 

In recent trading, however, the stock was down about 0.2% near $123, as the S&P 500 and N💧asdaq Composite also came off their earlier highs.

The early move Thursday came as earnings from Micron (MU), a Nvidia partner, came in better than expected, sending chip stocks higher across the board. Micron pointed to "robust AI demand" as it issued a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:rosy revenue outlook.

Bank of America analysts in a Thursday note said Micron’s results pointed to “a positive read-across” for Nvidia and other semi stocks. ꦜ

Wall Street analysts are still broadly bullish on Nvidia’s shares. Nearly all of the analysts currently tracking the stock have “buy” ratings on it, according to Visible Alpha data, while their mean price target of $152.52 represents a more than 20% prem♑ium to Wednesday’s closing price.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:David Marino-Nachison

Accenture Gains as Results Boosted by Demand for AI Services

Accenture (ACN) shares surged Thursday after the business management consultant reported better-than-expected revenue and gave solid guidance, citing higher demand for 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:generative ꦍartificial intel🌱ligence (Gen AI) services. The company also increased its dividend and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:stock buyback program.

The Dublin-based firm posted fourth-quarter revenue of $16.41 billion, up 2.6% year-over-year and ahead of consensus estimates of analysts polled by Visible Alpha. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Earnings per share (EPS) of $2.66 and adju꧑sted EPS of $2.79 match⛦ed estimates.

New bookings jumped 21% to $20.1 billion. New generative AI bookings reached $1.0 billion, and $3.0 billion for the fiscal year. 

Accenture raised its quarterly dividend 15% to $1.48, which will be pai꧟d on Nov. 15 to shareholders of record on Oct. 10. The board also approved an additional $4.0 billion in share repurchases, bringing the total outstanding authority up to $6.7 billion.

Accenture shares were up nearly 5% in afternoon trading, putting the stock back into positive territory for 2024.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Bill McColl

Chinese Companies Listed in U.S. Soar Again

Chinese shares listed in the U.S. shot up Thursday following reports that Beijing is planning more support measures and also pumping around $140 billion into its largest state lenders to prop up the country's struggling economy.

According to Bloomberg, Beijing is considering injec🐭ting up to 1 trillion yuan ($142 billion) of capital into its biggest state ba🍌nks to increase their capacity to shore up the economy, its first such move since the global financial crisis of 2008.

 China had announced plans to inject money into its state lenders when it laid out a massive 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:monetary stimulus package to b🏅oost the economy on Tuesday—but was scant on detail🌃s.

Meanwhile, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that top leaders are pledging to support fiscal spending and stabilize the country's struggling real estate sector.

Appaloosa Management founder David Tepper said on CNBC Thursday that following China's stimulus, he would buy "everything" in China. "ETFs, I would do futures—everything. Everything," the famed hedge fund manager said.

The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China index (HXC)—an index of 64 China-based companies traded in the U.S.—was up nearly 11% in early afternoon trading. China-focused 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:exchange-traded funds (ETFs) also rose. The iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI) jumped 8%, while the iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI) added 7%.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Nisha Gopalan

Micron's Post-Earnings Pop Leads Chip Stocks Higher

Micron Technology (MU) shares surged Thursday after the memory chip maker's revenue and outlook 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:blew past expectations, leading Nvidia (NVDA) and other semiconductor stocks higher. 

Shares of Micron were up over 16% in early trading, while shares of partner Nvidia gained close to 3%. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Broadcom (AVGO), and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) and o🧔ther chipmakers were all solidly higher in the fir༺st half hour of Thursday's session.

Nvidia, Micron, and other chip companies have seen their revenue and stock prices climb amid a boom in demand for infrastructure to support 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:artificial intelligence (AI).

Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said Wednesday the company's fiscal fourth-quarter sales nearly doubled from a year ago to $7.75 billion, driven by "robust AI demand." Mehrotra also said the company's sales are expected to continue growing, projecting current-quarter revenue could reach a record high between $8.5 billion to $8.9 billion.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Aaron McDade

Meta Price Levels to Watch as Stock Hits Record High

Meta Platforms (META) shares are rising in premarket trading after hitting a record high on Wednesday as the tech giant kicked off its annual Connect conference. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:The company unveiled a lower-cost Quest 3S headset, Orion augmented reality glasses, new 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:artificial intelligence (AI) features,🦩 and other tech gadgets at the higꦏhly anticipated event.

The stock broke out from a five-month ascending triangle on above-average volume earlier this month, with the share price continuing to track higher into the company's conference.

The measuring principle forecasts a 💮price target in the🍎 stock of $700, while a bars pattern predicts an upside target of around $790.

Investors should also keep an eye on the $535 level, an area on the chart where prior resistance could become future support near the ascending triangle's upper trendline.

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

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Timothy Smith

Futures Point to Higher Open for Major indexes

Futures 💮tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.ꦦ4%.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.8%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were up 1.5%.