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Stock market live Thursday: Dow gains 100, Netflix hikes prices, Apple & Amazon fall after reports

Stocks rose broadly on Thursday, recovering some of their steep losses from the previous session, as traders flocked into Big Tech names ahead a slew of corporate earnings reports. Sentiment was also lifted by better-than-expected economic data. However, traders remained worried about the rising number of coronavirus cases and its impact on the global economic recovery.

Thursday's rebound by the numbers

  • Dow closed up 0.52% for its first positive day in five
  • Dow is down 5.92% week to date, on pace for its worst week since March 20
  • Dow is down 6.59% year to date
  • S&P 500 closed up 1.19% for its first positive day in four
  • S&P 500 is down 4.48% week to date, on pace for its worst week since June 12
  • S&P 500 is up 2.46% year to date
  • S&P 500 is 7.75% below its intraday all-time high of 3,588.11 from Sept. 2
  • Ten out of 11 sectors were positive Thursday. — Jesse Pound

Apple slips after iPhone sales miss estimates

Shares of Apple lost more than 4% in extended trading after the company reported iPhone sales below Wall Street expectations for its fiscal fourth quarter. The consumer tech giant reported 73 cents in earnings per share and $64.7 billion in revenue for the period. Those numbers beat projections, as analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were looking for 70 cents in earnings per share and $63.7 billion in revenue. However, the company reported $26.44 billion in revenue from the iPhone, below the $27.93 billion expected. Apple also declined to give guidance for the fiscal first quarter. — Jesse Pound

Amazon blows past Q3 earnings forecasts, but stock falls

E-commerce giant Amazon's third quarter earnings results blew past Wall Street's earnings projections with per-share income of $12.37 on revenues of $96.15 billion, growth of 37% compared to the year-ago period. Wall Street's consensus projections for EPS and sales were $7.41 and $92.7 billion, respectively. The company forecast fourth-quarter sales in a range between $112 billion and $121 billion, or growth of 28% to 38% from a year earlier.

Amazon said it expects operating income of $1 billion to $4.5 billion assuming about $4 billion in costs related to Covid-19, more than the $2 billion from the second quarter.

Shares were down about 1.1% in volatile after-hours trading despite the beat. Amazon stock gained 1.5% during Thursday's regular session. — Thomas Franck

Facebook beats top and bottom line estimates

Facebook reported third quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations on both the top and bottom line. The company earned $2.71 per share on revenue of $21.47 billion. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv expected the company to report $1.91 in earnings per share, while generating $19.8 billion in revenue.

The stock slid 2% in extended trading after gaining nearly 5% during Thursday's regular session. — Pippa Stevens

Alphabet jumps on earnings beat

Shares of Google-parent Alphabet surged more than 8% in extended trading after earnings results beat Wall Street expectations. The company reported earnings of $16.40 per share and $46.17 billion in revenue for the third quarter. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv projected $11.29 in earnings per share and $42.90 billion in revenue. — Jesse Pound

Stocks snap losing streak

The U.S. market finished a volatile session in positive territory on Thursday to claw back some of its recent declines. The Dow gained 139 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite added 1.2% and 1.6%, respectively. — Jesse Pound

Treasury yields rise after weak auction

Treasurys extended their losses after a weak 7-year auction.

Yields, which move opposite price, rose Thursday as investors positioned for month end and considered the implications of more stimulus spending after the election. Yields edged even higher after the 1 p.m. ET auction.

The 7-year reached a high of 0.61%. "The 2.24 bid cover ratio is the weakest since August 2019, but considering the relentless $3 bln per month increases in supply since April and the record-high $53 bln size of today's auction, this cover ratio generated by today's auction is quite a bit stronger than the August 2019 auction," wrote Tom Simons of Jefferies.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield also moved higher and was at 0.835% in late afternoon trading. According to Michael Schumacher at Wells Fargo, the market is also considering the potential for post-election stimulus spending.

In the event of a blue wave Democratic sweep, the expectations are for trillions in stimulus early next year, which would result in an increase in Treasury debt.

--Patti Domm

Final hour of trade: Stocks rally ahead of Big Tech

With less than an hour left in the session, the major averages were headed for strong gains, clawing back some of Wednesday' sharp decline. The Dow traded nearly 250 points higher, or 0.9%. The S&P 500 gained 1.7% and the Nasdaq Composite popped 2.2%. —Fred Imbert

Netflix jumps after raising prices

Netflix shares jumped to a 3.4% gain after the streaming video giant raised monthly prices for its top two subscription tiers. The company's most popular option now costs $13.99 per month, up from $12.99. The news was first reported by The Verge. — Jesse Pound

Pool stock Leslie's jumps in debut

Shares of pool supply company Leslie's have surged after the company's first day as a publicly traded company. The stock, which trades under the ticker LESL on the Nasdaq, priced its initial public offering at $17 per share on Wednesday night, and shares have jumped more than 22% to roughly $20.76 per share. — Jesse Pound, Robert Hum

Major averages extend gains, Dow up 200 points

Major stock averages have moved solidly in the green during Thursday's volatile session. The Dow last traded up 200 points after falling as much as 229 points earlier. The S&P 500 gained 1.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite outperformed, rising 1.8% as Big Tech shares popped ahead of earnings after the bell.— Yun Li

Midday movers

A busy stretch of earnings is driving moves by individual stocks. Here are some of the most notable moves at midday:

Pinterest — The social media stock soared after Pinterest reported a blowout third quarter. The company's 13 cents in adjusted earnings per share was 10 cents above what analysts surveyed by Refinitiv predicted, while revenue of $443 million beat projections by nearly $50 million.

Ford Motor – Shares of Ford jumped more than 5% after the automaker posted quarterly results that blew past analysts' expectations. Ford posted an adjusted EPS of 65 cents, well ahead of a Refinitiv estimate of 19 cents. Its automotive revenue also came above forecasts.

Spotify – Shares of Spotify dropped more than 9% after the streaming music service reported a slightly wider-than-expected loss. Spotify lost 68 cents per share in the third quarter, compared to an estimate of a 62-cent loss per FactSet. Its revenue was in line with expectations.

Take a look at more movers here. — Jesse Pound

Markets at midday: Stocks rise ahead of Big Tech earnings

The major averages rose slightly around midday as traders looked ahead to the earnings reports from big tech companies. The S&P 500 traded 0.6% higher and the Nasdaq advanced 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered around the flatline. —Fred Imbert

Small caps could gain even more momentum as seasonality effects kick in, Bank of America says

Bank of America's Stephen Suttmeier noted the Russell 2000 — which tracks the performance of small-cap stocks — could continue to outperform the large-cap S&P 500 as seasonal factors kick in.

"November is the second strongest month for the Russell 2000 with average returns of 2.1% and the index up 68.3% of the time," said Suttmeier, a technical research strategist at the bank. "When October is up for RTY, these stats improve further with average returns going to 3.3%, up 73.9% of the time."

The Russell 2000 has rallied 3% this month and is on pace for its biggest monthly gain since August. The S&P 500, meanwhile, is down about 2% in October and headed for its first consecutive monthly decline since March. —Fred Imbert, Michael Bloom

Exxon announces workforce reduction

Exxon said Thursday that it expects to reduce its workforce by around 1,900 employees through voluntary and involuntary programs. "The workforce reductions are the result of ongoing reorganizations and work-process changes that have been made over the past several years to improve efficiency and reduce costs," the company said in a statement. "These actions will improve the company's long-term cost competitiveness and ensure the company manages through the current unprecedented market conditions."

Shares of Exxon last traded 2.3% higher. — Pippa Stevens

Market was primed for a pullback, Slimmon says

Andrew Slimmon, managing director at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, said the rough week for the markets was due in large part to overbought positioning at the end of last week and upcoming skittishness about the upcoming election.

"I think the market was very much set up for, okay, if something bad comes along, can it cause a pullback," Slimmon said. "And so you get further shutdowns based on Covid and going into the week before the election, and unfortunately people emotionally react to the election."

Slimmon pointed to a strong pattern of earnings beats for the S&P 500 and the pattern of fund flows picking up after the election as reasons to be bullish on the market going forward, but said volatility would likely continue through the election.

"There's a high level of anxiety among investors right now, and that makes it very hard to handicap the next few days," Slimmon said. — Jesse Pound

Shares of major tech companies jump ahead of earnings

Shares of Alphabet and Apple gained more than 2% each in morning trading on Thursday, while Facebook jumped 4% and Amazon rose 1%. All four tech giants are slated to report earnings after the bell. Their strength pushed the Nasdaq Composite more than 1% higher, outperforming the Dow and the S&P 500. — Yun Li

Trump comments on GDP number

President Donald Trump took to Twitter to comment on the record Q3 GDP reading. It did, however, follow a record drop during the second quarter.

— Pippa Stevens

Dow extends losses

The Dow continued to slide in early trading, at one point falling more than 200 points. The 30-stock average last traded at a 175 point loss, while the S&P 500 was down 0.2%. — Jesse Pound

Stocks open slightly higher

Stocks opened Thursday's session slightly higher after volatile overnight trading. The Dow gained 6 points, while the S&P 500 was up 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.8%. Better-than-expected economic data on Thursday helped to boost sentiment. — Pippa Stevens

Here are Thursday’s biggest analyst calls of the day: Pinterest, Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond & more

  • Telsey upgraded Bed Bath & Beyond to outperform from market perform.
  • JPMorgan upgraded Pinterest to overweight from neutral.
  • R-5 Capital upgraded Best Buy to hold from sell.
  • Oppenheimer upgraded Blackstone to outperform from perform.
  • MKM upgraded Pinterest to buy from hold.
  • Argus named General Electric a deep value idea.

Pro subscribers can read more here. - Michael Bloom

This is an S&P 500 support level traders are watching in early trading

With stock futures fluctuating, traders are watching for support at Wednesday's low once the market opens.

That level for pivot support on the S&P 500 is 3,268. The S&P closed at 3,271 Wednesday.

"Do we hold it? Or break below it and do more price discovery?" T3Live's Scott Redler said Thursday morning. "Under that, there is really nothing until the June lows of 3,205ish."

He adds that a low can be broken and reclaimed, relieving pressure. — Patti Domm

GDP grows 33.1% in third quarter, rebounds off multiyear low

Real gross domestic product, the main gauge of economic output in the U.S., grew at an annual rate of 33.1% in the third quarter as businesses across the country reopened following Covid-19 shutdowns in the spring. That came after a 31.4% plunge in the second quarter and marked the best print in the post-World War II era, when GDP advanced 16.7% in the first quarter of 1950.

The Commerce Department said in a release accompanying the GDP data that the comeback in economic activity reflected increases in health care and food services as well as improved automobile and apparel sales.

Economists have advised investors keep in mind that this data reflects activity for the three months ended Sept. 30 and that U.S. output may plateau or decline in the fourth quarter if the acceleration in new coronavirus infections leads to a slowdown in business activity through forced government closures or wary consumers. — Thomas Franck

Jobless claims lower-than-expected

U.S. weekly jobless claims totaled 751,000 in the prior week, the Department of Labor said Thursday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected claims to reach 778,000.— Fred Imbert

Pinterest jumps more than 30%

Pinterest jumped more than 30% during premarket trading on Thursday after the company posted strong revenue and user growth during the third quarter.

The social media name earned an adjusted 13 cents per share, versus the 3 cents expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv. Revenue was $443 million, ahead of the expected $383.5 million.

Read more about the company's earnings here. — Pippa Stevens, Salvador Rodriguez

U.S. reports more than 80,000 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, a record

The U.S. reported another 80,662 coronavirus cases on Wednesday, according to a tally kept by NBC.

The U.S. also reported an additional 996 deaths in the last day.

NBC said the number of new cases surpassed the previous high of 79,303, set last Friday.

However, the NBC figure still falls short of a separate daily total reported by Johns Hopkins University on Saturday. — Yen Nee Lee

Yum Brands sees quarterly revenue jump 8%

Yum Brands reported an 8% rise in quarterly revenue during the third quarter, fueled by Taco Bell's return to positive same-store sales growth.

The company earned an adjusted $1.01 per share, which was ahead of the 80-cent profit analysts polled by Refinitiv were expecting. Revenue also topped expectations, coming in at $1.45 billion versus the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion.

The stock was flat during premarket trading. — Pippa Stevens, Amelia Lucas

Moderna says it’s preparing global launch of Covid vaccine

Moderna is prepping for the global launch of its potential coronavirus vaccine, already taking in $1.1 billion in deposits from governments awaiting the potentially lifesaving drug, the biotech firm said Thursday in its third-quarter earnings report. Shares advanced 3% during premarket trading. — Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

Dow futures roll over

U.S. stock index futures were mixed overnight trading as the major averages attempted to make up for Wednesday's steep losses. Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 33 points, indicating a 40-point loss at the opening bell. S&P 500 futures were also negative. Nasdaq 100 futures were slightly higher.

At 8:30 a.m. ET U.S. GDP for the third quarter will be released, in addition to weekly jobless claims.

On Wednesday the Dow and S&P 500 posted their worst day since June 11, falling 3.4% and 3.5% respectively. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite suffered a slightly larger loss at 3.7%. With Wednesday's losses, the major averages are on pace for their worst week since March. — Pippa Stevens