On Thursday, the US stock market showed little change. The S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite both posted modest gains. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell.
Investors analyzed a mix of earnings from corporations and waited for Friday’s important jobs report.
Dow Jones dropped by 189 points or 0.4% due to disappointing earnings from large companies.
The key market players on Thursday
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Semiconductors Slide: Stocks of chip makers fell sharply, Qualcomm and Arm both falling by 4% each, and Skyworks Solutions plummeting 24% following weak quarter results.
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Ford shares fall After the automaker’s warning of tough times in 2025, Ford stock fell 7%.
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Honeywell pulls Dow down The industrial giant’s stock dropped 5% following a weaker than expected full-year earning guidance, and the announcement of a division into three companies.
- Philip Morris soars In contrast to this, Philip Morris’ stock soared 10% following the release of strong earnings and revenues for its fourth quarter. This led it to a new record high close.
Investors are focusing on jobs and tariff data
The market sentiment seemed to have stabilized after the initial concerns about new US tariffs on Chinese exports.
Investors have reacted positively towards President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend additional tariffs on Mexican and Canadian products.
Wall Street awaits the January jobs report due on Friday morning. Economists predict that nonfarm payrolls will rise by 169,000 from December’s 256,000.
Federal Reserve expectations could be affected by a softer employment number.
Gold continues to be a beneficiary of the market’s uncertainty.
UBS has raised its gold price forecast for the next 12 months to $3,000 an ounce in anticipation of further gains.
Gold spot traded last at $2.849.89 an ounce, after hitting a record high of $2.882.16 per pound on Wednesday.
Amazon’s earnings are in the spotlight
Amazon will also report earnings for the fourth quarter after market closing.
After Alphabet’s dismal cloud revenue report, analysts will be watching for any updates from Amazon Web Services.
Since 2022, the e-commerce company has cut costs while positioning itself to be a leader in artificial intelligence.
Eli Lilly’s shares increased 3% in another recent development after it reassured its investors of the potential growth for the obesity drug division.
The company’s forecast for 2025 is viewed as a “highly attainable” goal by analysts.
Wall Street is cautious, but not slack as the earnings season continues.
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