Stock market today: Live updates

Shares of online travel agency Despegar soared more than 10% on Thursday after Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of the stock, saying it has an “out of whack valuation.”

The company is an attractive investment opportunity in Latin America’s rapidly growing travel market, which was worth $150 billion last year and could grow at a double-digit rate over the medium term, according to analyst Brett Knoblauch.

“Given the growth opportunities ahead for DESP, as well as profitability improvements, we believe DESP’s valuation is quite attractive … shares can do well even if its multiple does not expand, stemming from adjusted EBITDA growth and an increasing cash balance,” Knoblauch wrote in a Thursday note.

Read more about the firm’s investment thesis in CNBC Pro here.

— Pia Singh

Thursday’s advances have pulled two of the major indexes into positive territory on the week.

All three of the indexes were lower week to date heading into Thursday’s session. Now, the S&P 500 is up 0.6% on the week, while the Nasdaq Composite has added 0.2%.

The Dow, meanwhile, was still down around 0.6% compared with the start of the week.

— Alex Harring

Apple shares advanced in the session, putting the mega-cap technology name on track to snap a series of negative sessions.

Shares were last up around 0.5% Thursday afternoon. If that holds through session close, it would mark the first positive trading day of the last seven.

It comes amid a period of underperformance, with the stock up less than 1% in 2024.

— Alex Harring

Technology stocks helped push the S&P 500 to new highs on Thursday.

The broad index climbed more than 1% in Thursday’s session, returning to record levels after pulling back earlier in the week. Communication services and information technology stocks led the benchmark higher, with both sectors up nearly 2%.

Paramount, Meta and Warner Bros. Discovery led the communication services sector upward, with each rallying more than 3%. Every information technology stock traded higher in the session, but On Semiconductor saw the biggest advance of more than 9%.

Just two of the 11 sectors that comprise the S&P 500 traded lower. Real estate slipped 0.2%, while financials lost 0.3%.

— Alex Harring

Dozens of stocks in the S&P 500 — from financial heavyweights to semiconductor names — hit new 52-week highs as the broader market rallied on Thursday.

Costco jumped about 1.1% ahead of its earnings due after the closing bell. Nvidia, Micron and NXP Semiconductors, as well as data center plays Eaton and GE, also reached record-highs, showing continued strength in AI-related names. Insurance companies Progressive and Prudential also gained during the day’s trading session.

Here are several of the companies that reached new highs:

• Meta Platforms trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in May 2012
• T-Mobile US trading at all-time highs back to the MetroPCS IPO in April 2007
• Colgate-Palmolive trading at all-time high levels back to its first listing on the NYSE in 1930
• Costco trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in Dec. 1985
• Walmart trading at all-time high levels back to when it first began trading on the NYSE in Aug. 1972
• Marathon Petroleum trading at all-time highs back to its spinoff from Marathon Oil in June 2011
• American Express trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in May 1977
• Bank of America trading at levels not seen since Feb. 2023
• Citigroup trading at levels not seen since March 2022
• JPMorgan trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in 1983
• Progressive trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in 1971
• Prudential trading at levels not seen since May 2022
• Wells Fargo trading at levels not seen since Feb. 2022
• Boston Scientific trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in May 1992
• Cigna trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in 1972
• Caterpillar trading at all-time high levels back to when it first began trading on the NYSE in 1929
• Eaton trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in July 1923
• General Electric trading at levels not seen since July 2017
• Applied Materials trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in Oct. 1972
• International Business Machines trading at levels not seen since June 2013
• Micron trading at all-time highs back to IPO in June 1984
• Nvidia trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in Jan. 1999
• NXP Semiconductors trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in Aug. 2010
• Qualcomm trading at levels not seen since Feb. 2022
• Sherwin Williams trading at levels not seen since Jan. 2022

— Pia Singh, Christopher Hayes

These are the stocks making the biggest moves in midday trading:

• Victoria’s Secret – The intimate apparel retailer shed 36% and headed for its worst day on record after posting mixed fourth-quarter results and disappointing guidance. Victoria’s Secret said it anticipates a larger-than-expected decline in revenues for the first quarter and full year.
• Novo Nordisk — Shares rallied nearly 10% to record high level after the company reported positive Phase I trial results for its new experimental weight loss drug amycretin.
• American Eagle Outfitters — Shares jumped 2% after American Eagle Outfitters posted a beat on top and bottom lines. The company reported adjusted earnings of 61 cents per share on $1.68 billion in revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter. Analysts had estimated earnings of 50 cents per share on $1.67 billion in revenue, according to LSEG.

The full list can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

Shares of Victoria’s Secret plunged 30% during Thursday’s session, putting the maker of intimates apparel on pace for its worst day ever.

The declines came after the retailer posted mixed fourth-quarter results and disappointing guidance for the first quarter and full year. The company surpassed earnings estimates by 11 cents a share but fell slightly short of the $2.09 billion expected by analysts polled by LSEG.

Victoria’s Secret said it anticipated a low-single digit decline in revenues for the year, versus the 0.4% decline expected by analysts polled by LSEG. The company also said it expects a mid-single digit drop in revenues for the first quarter.

The stock’s down more than 32% since the start of the year.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said inflation is nearing the point where officials would feel comfortable about cutting interest rates.

“We’re waiting to become more confident that inflation is moving sustainably at 2%. When we do get that confidence, and we’re not far from it, it will be appropriate to begin to dial back the level of restriction,” Powell said Thursday during testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.

He noted that cuts would be necessary “so that we don’t, you know, drive the economy into recession rather than normalizing policy as the economy gets back to normal.”

—Jeff Cox

Cleveland Federal Reserve President worries more about cutting rates too quickly than keeping them elevated for too long.

In a speech Thursday, the central bank official called reducing too quickly “the bigger mistake” compared to waiting too long to track the path of inflation. The Fed seeks 2% inflation, and Mester and other officials have said that progress is being made but they’re not convinced enough yet to start easing.

“Doing so would undermine all of the good work that has gone into getting inflation to this point,” she said in prepared remarks. “We don’t want to find ourselves in a situation where we begin easing too soon, undo some of the progress we have made on inflation, potentially destabilize inflation expectations, and then have to reverse course. And with labor markets and economic growth both being very solid, we don’t need to take that risk.”

Mester is a voting member this year of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee.

—Jeff Cox

Obesity drug developer Viking Therapeutics shares fell more than 13% despite being initiated at a buy at Jefferies. Analyst Roger Song has set a $110 price target for the stock, which implies upside of more than 20% from Wednesday’s close.

Instead, Viking shares are reacting to upbeat early-stage clinical data from Novo Nordisk, which is has set the bar even higher for weight loss drugs. The next-generation drug that Novo is developing is not only an oral formulation, which is easier for companies to manufacture and patients to take, but it also is showing great success in initial weight loss. Unlike Novo’s Ozempic and Wegovy, this new formulation targets the GLP-1 and amylin hormones, which some think will be tolerated better by patients.

Novo’s NYSE-listed shares were up more than 8% in trading. Rival Lilly shares were down less than 1%, but other biotechs looking to break into the space were even weaker. Take Structure Therapeutics stock, shares were down more than 7%, despite the fact that it too is developing a weight loss drug that is an oral amylin agonist.

—Christina Cheddar Berk

Announced layoffs in February hit their highest level for the month in 15 years, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday.

Planned layoffs totaled 84,638 for the month, which was 3% higher than January and 9% above the same month a year ago. From a historical perspective, it was the worst February since 2009, when 186,350 cuts were announced as the global financial crisis was winding down.

Technology led the way with 12,412, though the month was down 55% from a year ago.

“As we navigate the start of 2024, we’re witnessing a persistent wave of layoffs. Businesses are aggressively slashing costs and embracing technological innovations, actions that are significantly reshaping staffing needs,” said Andrew Challenger, Challenger’s labor and workplace expert.

—Jeff Cox

LME Tin reached its highest price since August on Thursday morning.

The metal touched $27,680 per metric tonne. That’s the highest since Aug. 8, when it at one point hit $27,800.

Elsewhere, copper and LME Zinc reached their most expensive levels going back to late January.

— Alex Harring, Gina Francolla

Stocks opened higher on Thursday.

The Dow traded 0.5% higher shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET. The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.7%.

— Alex Harring

Shares of New York Community Bancorp were up 2% in volatile premarket trading after releasing updated financial information. The regional bank reported $77.2 billion in deposits as of March 5, down from $83 million on Feb. 5.

The bank released a breakdown of its loan book. NYCB said it has 12% of its loans in commercial real estate, and 44% in multi-family housing.

The bank also announced that it was cutting its dividend for the second time this year.

The update comes after NYCB raised $1 billion from investors on Wednesday, including from the firm of former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

— Jesse Pound

Initial filings for unemployment insurance were unchanged from a week ago and exactly in line with expectations, the Labor Department announced Thursday.

Jobless claims totaled 217,000 for the week ended March 2, matching the previous week’s upwardly revised total. On a four-week rolling basis, claims nudged lower to 212,250.

Continuing claims, which run a week behind, totaled just over 1.9 million, up just 8,000 from the previous period and also almost exactly in line with the FactSet estimate.

—Jeff Cox

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

• Novo Nordisk — Shares jumped 6.6% after the Danish pharmaceutical company reported positive Phase 1 trial data for its new experimental obesity drug, amycretin. Eli Lilly, the company’s American rival, dipped 0.7% on the news.
• Nvidia — Semiconductor companies rose broadly as a group, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF gaining 1.5% in the premarket. Nvidia shares gained 1.8% after Mizuho said the stock can go to $1,000. Micron Technology shares advanced 3.9% after Stifel upgraded the semiconductor to buy from hold, and raised its price target. Broadcom shares climbed 1.9%. Intel shares rose 1.7%.
• American Eagle Outfitters — Shares were 13% higher after the apparel retailer posted fourth-quarter results that beat analyst expectations. American Eagle Outfitters earned 61 cents per share, excluding items, on revenue of $1.68 billion. Analysts expected a profit of 50 cents per share on revenue of $1.67 billion, according to LSEG.

Read the full list here.

— Sarah Min

American Eagle shares climbed more than 10% in Thursday’s premarket after exceeding Wall Street expectations for the fourth quarter and unveiling a plan to boost profits.

The retailer posted 61 cents in earnings per share on $1.68 billion in revenue, topping the respective consensus estimates of 50 cents and $1.67 billion from analysts polled by LSEG. American Eagle also shared its “powering profitable growth plan” with investors.

Shares of the stock have risen more than 10% in 2024.

— Alex Harring, Gabrielle Fonrouge

Wednesday’s positive session snapped back-to-back losing days for the three major averages. But those indexes are still on pace for losses this week.

The S&P 500 has seen the narrowest loss this week, down 0.6%. The Dow has dropped 1.1%, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.5%.

— Alex Harring