Investing
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The S&P 500 is within 1% of hitting a new all-time high as markets prepare to open for trading Thursday.
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Positive earnings reports among three S&P 500 companies promise to help lift the index, and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF as well.
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Since tumbling into bear market territory in April in response to a flurry of tariffs announcements from President Trump, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) has gained back 22%. And on Thursday, it’s “22 down, just one more to go.”
If the stock market can eke out just a single percentage point gain today, it will hit a new all-time record high. So what are the chances that will happen?
With so many factors at play, it’s really hard to say. On the one hand, tariffs threats to economic growth remain. On the other, a tenuous ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran has investors feeling ebullient, and oil investors in particular sighing in relief. On the third hand, initial jobless claims for last week just came in at 236,000, slightly better than the 244,000 expected. On the fourth, with continuing jobless claims numbers still high, no one seems entirely certain if this will convince the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates — or raise them.
Earnings
In earnings news, S&P 500 component company Micron (Nasdaq: MU) reported a big Q3 earnings beat — $1.91 per share — last night, with revenue of $9.3 billion way, way above the $8.8 billion Wall Street predicted. Micron further forecast that 2025 revenue might hit $11 billion, more than the $9.9 billion expected.
Fellow S&P 500 component company McCormick (NYSE: MKC) reported a beat this morning, $0.69 per share versus $0.66 expected. Revenue nailed the $1.66 billion forecast, and McCormick says it’s on track to beat earnings for the year, earning between $3.03 and $3.08 per share.
Rounding out the list of S&P 500 companies reporting today, Walgreens Boot Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) reported $0.38 per share for Q3 earnings this morning, a nickel better than expected. Revenue of $39 billion also topped estimates.
Walgreens is in the process of being bought by a consortium of companies led by Sycamore Partners. The sale is expected to close later this year and, when it happens, Walgreens stock will disappear from the Nasdaq.
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