US stocks stepped higher on Thursday, eyeing a return to the Trump rally as investors mapped out the next president’s likely impact on markets and awaited the Federal Reserve’s policy decision.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) hovered near the flatline, on the heels of a 1,500-point gain that marked the blue-chip gauge’s best day since 2022. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose roughly 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) moved up 0.9% as shares of chip heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA) rose to new highs.
Spirits still appear buoyant after Donald Trump’s presidential election win, which sent all three major stock gauges soaring to fresh record highs on Wednesday. His plans for corporate tax cuts and deregulation have fueled optimism for a boost to the economy that will feed into stocks.
But some on Wall Street see signs of a relief rally, given Trump’s decisive victory also put paid to worries about a contested vote. They suggest stock gains could slow as the euphoria fades.
The Fed’s interest-rate decision later Thursday — typically, a dominant event for markets — is taking something of a back seat amid the election fallout.
On the corporate front, Arm Holdings (ARM) stock fell as the chip designer’s revenue forecast disappointed Wall Street hopes for stronger, AI-powered growth. By contrast, peer Qualcomm’s (QCOM) shares jumped more than 4% after its sales and profit outlooks topped estimates.
Meanwhile, Trump Media & Technology Group stock (DJT) continued to pull back from the big spike that followed the election result. Shares in the company — the home of Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social — fell by double digits in early trading.
Stocks extend gains after Trump rallly, ahead of Fed decision
Stocks extended their gains on Thursday following a monster rally on the heels of Donald Trump’s White House victory. The move higher in stocks comes ahead of the Federal Reserves rate policy decision.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) inched up 0.1% while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose roughly 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) moved up 0.5% after all three major averages closed at record highs on Wednesday.
As Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger reports, the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points and avoid any unnecessary surprises after the election of Trump as the next president.
Meanwhile parts of the ‘Trump Trade’ showed signs of a some unwinding on Thursday as Trump Media & Technology Group stock (DJT) sank double digits, reversing the gains it enjoyed in the prior session.
58 mins ago
DJT stock sinks, reversing election-fueled gains
Trump Media & Technology Group stock (DJT) sank double digits in premarket trading on Thursday, reversing the gains it enjoyed on Wednesday as Donald Trump clinched victory over Kamala Harris in the presidential election.
As Yahoo Finance’s Allie Canal reports, shares in the company — the home of Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social — have been on a wild ride over the past week, with the up-and-down moves mostly tied to Trump’s chances of reclaiming the White House.
The stock is down about 10% over the past five days, although shares have rallied nearly 120% in the past month.
Initial jobless claims jumped to 221,000 last week, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday morning.
The previous week’s level was revised up by 2,000 from 216,000 to 218,000.
Meanwhile, continuing claims came in 1,892,000, an increase of 39,000 from the previous week’s revised level.
Today at 1:08 PM UTC
Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
Here’s a look at the big economic and market themes happening today as Wall Street adjusts to Donald Trump’s coming return to the White House. The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points today, aiming for stability and avoiding surprises following Trump’s victory in the election.
