Stocks Surge After Strong Jobs Report; Dow Closes at Record High

Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Friday

3 hr 45 min ago

Advancers

• Shares of lithium producers moved higher following reports that British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto (RIO) might be considering an acquisition in the lithium industry. Rio Tinto is reportedly looking to expand its lithium operations, even as prices for the metal have been pressured by soft electric vehicle (EV) demand. Shares of Albemarle (ALB), the world’s largest lithium producer, surged 8.2% on Friday, marking the top performance in the S&P 500.
• United Airlines (UAL) shares gained 6.5% following reports that low-cost rival Spirit Airlines (SAVE) is considering a bankruptcy filing in the wake of its failed merger with JetBlue Airways (JBLU). Spirit is also said to be exploring options to restructure its balance sheet as it faces billions of dollars in debt. Spirit shares plummeted 24.6% on Friday, while JetBlue shares soared 14.2%.
• Deckers Outdoor (DECK) shares added 6.4% on the day. The parent company of the Ugg, Hoka, and Teva footwear brands is a relatively fresh addition to the S&P 500, having joined the benchmark index in March. More recently, Deckers Outdoor completed a six-for-one stock split in September. Following the split, Baird analysts highlighted Deckers stock for its “best-in-class growth.”

Decliners

• Extra Space Storage (EXR) shares dropped 3.9%, the biggest loss of any S&P 500 stock on Friday. The downtick for the self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT) came after regulatory filings revealed CEO Joseph D. Margolis sold around $1.34 million worth of shares in the company. Investors often consider significant sales by company insiders as a potential warning signal.
• Shares of credit reporting agency Equifax (EFX) sank 3.4%. Earlier this week, UBS initiated coverage on Equifax stock with a “buy” rating, asserting that the company could be positioned to benefit from an expected normalization in the mortgage market. However, there could be less certainty around a mortgage recovery after today’s jobs report, which raised questions about the likely pace of interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
• Concerns about Fed rate cuts and the trajectory of mortgage rates weighed on companies in the homebuilding industry. Shares of homebuilder D.R. Horton (DHI) fell 2.9%, while shares of peers Lennar (LEN) and PulteGroup (PHM) were down 2.5%.

Michael Bromberg

Major Indexes Inch Into Positive Territory for the Week

4 hr 47 min ago

After a rocky week, a late-session surge pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite into positive territory for the week, but just barely.

ExxonMobil Hits Record High Despite Q3 Profit Warning

6 hr 2 min ago

Shares of ExxonMobil (XOM) hit a record high Friday, riding the coattails of the surge in crude oil prices amid concerns about tensions in the Middle East.

The latest gains came even as the oil major warned that lower oil prices and refining margins in the third quarter would have have a negative impact on results for the period compared to the previous quarter.

The energy giant wrote in a regulatory filing that a change in crude prices would cause a $600 million to $1 billion reduction in upstream profit for the third quarter. It expects a similar financial effect by a change in industry margins for energy products.

ExxonMobil made a profit of $9.2 billion in the second quarter. It posted $9.1 billion in earnings in the third quarter of 2023.

ExxonMobil shares were up 1.6% at $124.58 in recent trading, after hitting an all-time high of $125.19 earlier in the session.

–Bill McColl

S&P Back to Near Unchanged for the Week

7 hr 32 min ago

The S&P 500 is just a few points away from where it started the week, after a bumpy few days to start trading this month.

The index was up 0.5% at 5,729 recently, about 10 points away from being in positive territory for the week and not far from its all-time intraday high of 5,767.

Meta Price Levels to Watch as Stock Hits Record High

8 hr 43 min ago

Meta Platforms (META) shares hit a new record high Friday as investor optimism about the tech giant’s AI opportunities runs high.

Meta shares were up 0.4% at around $585 in midday trading Friday. The stock has gained 65% so far in 2024, handily outpacing the S&P 500’s return of around 20% over the same period.

The relative strength index confirms bullish price momentum in the stock, but also warns of overbought conditions, opening the door to short-term profit taking.

Investors should monitor key retracement levels around $535 and $480, while also monitoring chart-based bullish price targets at $700 and $790.

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