S&P 500 closes at record high, Dow gains 300 points in late-day rally: Live updates

The S&P 500 closed at a new record high, as all three major indexes ended Thursday’s trading session higher to claw back the steep losses suffered earlier in the week.

The broad stock index climbed 0.58%, settling at 5,029.73. while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.30% to close at 15,906.17. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 348.85 points higher, or 0.91%, to end at 38,773.12.

Tesla and Meta Platforms outperformed, rising 6% and 2%, respectively. Shares of Wells Fargo rose 7% after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ended a key penalty for the bank.

Investors have spent the week assessing where things stand in the U.S. economy, but a slew of indicators have given mixed signals so far.

Fresh data from Thursday morning revealed that retail sales dropped 0.8% in January. That’s much more than the 0.3% decline expected by economists, according to Dow Jones. This raised some concern about the strength of the U.S. consumer under the weight of sticky inflation and high interest rates, and sent Treasury yields down.

Earnings season continued to paint a muddled picture of corporate America. Tripadvisor jumped 9% after beating estimates on the top and bottom lines.

On the other hand, Cisco shares were down 2% after the tech company announced layoffs and weak forward sales projections. Deere stock dropped 5% after the agricultural machinery manufacturer lowered guidance for its full-year net income.

Equities rallied on Wednesday but did not erase all of the losses from Tuesday’s sell-off, which came on the heels of a hotter-than-expected inflation report. The S&P 500 recaptured the 5,000 level, closing slightly above it.

“Not surprising with a moderately hotter CPI, we had an outsized reaction, and I think we likely will try to spend the rest of the week clawing some of that back. Yesterday was a good example of that, and today feels like the same kind of grind higher,” Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth Management told CNBC in an interview. “We’re constructive on this market heading forward.”