US stocks slipped on Thursday after a Big Tech-fueled winning session, with investors weighing fresh labor data amid growing hopes for interest rate cuts.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) dipped below the flatline on the heels of a record close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) popped slightly, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gave back early session to drop about 0.3%.
Stocks took a breather after the roaring rally that also lifted the Nasdaq to an all-time high on Wednesday. Tech stocks helped drive the gains, with Nvidia (NVDA) overtaking Apple (AAPL) as the second-biggest US company.
However, on Thursday, Nvidia shares gave back early session gains to fall below the flatline, sending the AI chip giant’s market cap below the $3 trillion level. Megacap techs Apple and Meta (META) were little changed.
Meanwhile, Treasury yields revived from declines that bolstered the stock rally. The benchmark 10-year yield (^TNX) edged up to around 4.30%, coming off its lowest level since March hit Wednesday.
The market has greeted recent soft economic readings as a reason to put a Federal Reserve policy pivot back on the table, with the ADP private payrolls miss just the latest sign of a labor market cooldown. Traders now see a 69% chance of a September rate cut, versus around 50% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Across the pond, the European Central Bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Thursday for the first time since 2019, in a widely anticipated move.
Weekly US jobless claims released on Thursday morning came in at 229,000 versus 220,000 expected by economists. The data gives investors another clue as to whether the Fed will nail its wished-for soft landing for the economy. But the countdown is on for the May monthly jobs report on Friday, seen as pivotal for stocks.
GameStop shares jump 17% as “Roaring Kitty” teases out livestream
Gamestop (GME) stock popped about 20% Thursday afternoon following a post on YouTube from an account linked to Keith Gill.
Gill, credited with igniting the meme stock rally back in 2021, is also known as “Roaring Kitty” on X, formerly Twitter, and YouTube. The post wasn’t an actual video but rather a teaser for a livestream set to start at noon on Friday.
Gill, who became famous on YouTube by posting videos of himself talking about GameStop, has yet to reemerge despite the activity on his various social accounts. But the YouTube post follows other posts from Gill’s accounts on X and Reddit in the past several weeks.
“Investor enthusiasm is extremely high in relation to a potential AI upgrade cycle being triggered out of WWDC, which we have seen no evidence to suggest is true and believe it’s more of a sell-the-news event. We continue to expect U.S. upgrade rates to hit all-time lows. While China market share losses have improved, growth is likely still challenged, in our view.”
Nvidia pulls back, sending market value below $3 trillion
Nvidia’s (NVDA) valuation fell below the $3 trillion mark on Thursday, a day after the company achieved the feat.
The artificial intelligence chip giant opened higher but quickly fell. The stock was trading down by more than 1% at around 11:45 a.m. ET.
As Yahoo Finance’s Dan Howley reported, Nvidia has been the poster child for investor enthusiasm in artificial intelligence, which accelerated with OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT in late 2022.
Oil gains as ECB lowers rates, Saudi Arabia signals flexibility on output cut phaseout
Oil gained on Thursday after the European Central Bank lowered its key interest rate and OPEC leader Saudi Arabia signaled it still prioritizes price stability, signaling it could change an earlier decision to phase out some voluntary cuts starting this year.
West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) futures rose 0.8% while Brent (BZ=F), the international benchmark price, also rose nearly 1%.
Earlier this week crude fell following a decision by the oil alliance to keep most of its production cuts in place,…