S&P 500 rises to record on solid economic data, tech stock gains: Live updates

Shares of Super Micro Computer plummeted more than 10% in late-morning trading following a Wall Street Journal report that the AI server maker is being investigated by the Justice Department.

The report, citing people familiar with the matter, said that a former employee accused the company of accounting manipulations.

Last month, shares dropped nearly 38% after delaying its annual fiscal report and Hindenberg Research disclosed a short position, alleging accounting violations.

— Samantha Subin

Shares of Micron Technology surged 17%, putting the memory chipmaker on pace for its best day on record since November 2011.

The rally in Micron followed a strong quarterly print and guidance, driven by growing AI demand for memory chips.

Shares have rallied 32% since the start of 2024 and 17% in September.

— Samantha Subin

Stocks opened higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 notching its latest record-high.

The broad market index advanced 0.68%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 249 points, or 0.58%.

— Brian Evans

A batch of economic releases Thursday morning came in right around or slightly better than market expectations, solidifying the notion that the U.S. macro picture is steady:

• Initial jobless claims for the week ending Sept. 21 totaled 218,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous period and slightly better than the 223,000 Dow Jones estimate. Continuing claims, which run a week behind, rose to 1.834 million, a touch below the FactSet forecast.
• Orders for long-lasting “durable goods” orders for items such as aircraft, appliances and computers, were little changed for August, better than the estimate for a 3% decline.
• Gross domestic product rose at a 3% annualized rate in the second quarter, according to the last of three readings from the Commerce Department. That was in line with market expectations.

—Jeff Cox

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell.

Starbucks — The coffee chain rose more than 2% after Bernstein upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform. The firm is bullish on new CEO Brian Niccol who began on Sept. 9. 

New York Community Bancorp — Shares of the regional lender gained more than 4% after Barclays upgraded shares to overweight as it repositions itself following a rocky patch.

Micron Technology, chip stocks — Micron shares surged nearly 17% after offering a stronger-than-expected revenue forecast for the fiscal first quarter. Other chip stocks also rose in tandem Thursday morning. Nvidia rose 2%, while U.S.-traded shares of ASML Holding added nearly 5%. 

— Hakyung Kim

The Federal Reserve’s rate-cutting cycle should be a positive for U.S. equities and the domestic economy, according to Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

“We expect this series of rate reductions to help spark broader market opportunities next year,” Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at the firm, said in a Wednesday note to clients. “While we are looking for the economy to slow to a more moderate pace into year-end, our base case does not include a recession.”

According to Wren, central bankers could implement 200 basis points or more of interest rate cuts between now and the end of next year. Under this scenario, the strategist said he continues prefer quality large-cap domestic stocks over riskier small cap names and U.S. equities over international plays. On the international front, he prefers developed international companies over emerging markets.

To be sure, Wren added even with his current views, he is aware of potential risks to U.S. economic growth such as the upcoming presidential election and increasing tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine.

— Pia Singh

Some of the provisions in former President Donald Trump’s proposed trade policies, such as a steep tariff on Chinese imports, could end up stoking inflation, according to Piper Sandler.

“Trump’s trade policies would produce greater inflation and slow economic growth but the tariffs will likely be more heavily concentrated on intermediate goods rather than consumer products,” analyst Andy Laperriere wrote on Thursday.

“Harris’ [tax] policies, by letting the 2017 tax reforms expire and seeking an expanded child tax credit (among other safety net expansions), would harm the higher end consumer and be a tailwind for the low and middle end consumer,” the analyst added.

— Brian Evans

Chinese stock ETFs rallied in the premarket after officials held a meeting affirming the government’s efforts to stimulate China’s economy. The iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI) and the iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI) jumped more than 6% each.

“China continues to dominate the headlines with their stimulus measures,” traders at JPMorgan wrote. “In the near-term, the tactical rally can continue as (1) The magnitude of the current rally is just
half of what we’ve seen in “trading risk-on” episodes in China in recent years, and (2) The flurry of positive news likely continues over the next month as more easing policy announcements are drip-fed into the market.”

— Fred Imbert

European stocks opened sharply higher Thursday, spurred on by overnight gains in Asia-Pacific markets.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up around 1% during early morning deals, with almost all sectors in positive territory.

— Sam Meredith

The odds may be against Nvidia when it comes to investing, according to New York University’s Aswath Damodaran.

“With Nvidia, the odds are against you because of how high a price you’re paying,” the “Dean of Valuation” told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Wednesday. During Wednesday’s session, Nvidia shares rose more than 2% to a closing price of $123.51, passing $3 trillion in market capitalization.

“Nvidia is the perfect momentum play in either direction,” he continued, saying that’s because it has nothing to do with fundamentals or the state of the business. “If you’re a trader, I can see why Nvidia is going to be where you’re going, but as an investor, I think the worst odds are with Nvidia.”

Moving forward, Damodaran believes that expectations for the chip darling must eventually be “reset.”

“You’ve priced this company to be the most amazing company of all time,” he said. “Where’s the upside left? If it’s just amazing rather than the most amazing company, that’s a disappointment, so I think this is something you’re going to see the back-and-forth on in terms of expectations.”

— Sean Conlon

These are the stocks moving the most in extended hours trading:

• Micron Technology — The semiconductor manufacturer soared 13% after issuing strong guidance for the current quarter.
• H.B. Fuller — The adhesives company fell nearly 10%. H.B. Fuller’s adjusted earnings in the fiscal third quarter came in at $1.13 per share on revenue of $918 million.
• Concentrix — Shares plunged 14%. The customer experience solutions company posted fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.87 per share, while analysts were looking for $2.93 per share, according to FactSet.

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Lisa Kailai Han