Stocks open higher, as S&P 500 tries to snap 5-day losing streak

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied Thursday, last trading up 190 points, or about 0.6%, thanks to gains from Boeing and Chevron.

Boeing’s stock added 4%, while Chevron rose 2% after upping its capital spending budget.

Caterpillar, Cisco, Nike and 3M built on the Dow’s rally, rising more than 1% each.

— Samantha Subin

Stocks opened higher Thursday after the S&P 500 posted five days of losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 126 points, or 0.4%. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite added 0.4%.

— Samantha Subin

Argus upgraded shares of AT&T to a buy from a hold rating, saying the telecom stock could rally on the expansion of its customer base and increased spending in 5G.

“Investment spending on 5G and fiber broadband networks in addition to debt reduction are its critical strategic priorities in the near term, toward creating the underlying framework for sustainable long-term growth,” wrote analyst Joseph Bonner in a note to clients Wednesday.

The company’s spinoff of WarnerMedia to Discovery also enables it to focus on its telecommunications business. Recent attention toward debt reduction and refinancing will also help AT&T weather the current macro picture, he said.

“AT&T’s wireless business has been a star in 2022 as the company has added substantial numbers of subscribers despite a price increase,” Bonner wrote. “Although it has not gained as many subscribers as industry leader T-Mobile, it has done better than Verizon’s subscriber losses and anemic numbers.”

AT&T’s stock has performed solidly this year despite the broader market shakeup, with shares up nearly 4%. The firm’s $24 price target suggests a more than 24% potential upside from Wednesday’s close.

— Samantha Subin

Jobless claims showed a slight bounce higher last week to 230,000, which was exactly in line with the Dow Jones estimate, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The total for the week ended Dec. 3 represented an increase of 4,000 from the previous period and also matched the four-week moving average computed to smooth out weekly volatility.

Continuing claims, which run a week behind, rose 62,000 to 1.671 million, an increase of 62,000 to the highest level since Feb. 5.

Stock market futures nudged higher following the release.

—Jeff Cox

These are some of the stocks moving before the bell Thursday:

Ciena – The networking equipment maker’s stock surged more than 17% after a substantial top and bottom line beat in its latest quarter.

GameStop – GameStop reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and sales that fell short of predictions. CEO Matt Furlong said the company had completed necessary investments and would be very judicious in future spending. GameStop moved between gains and losses in premarket trading.

Rent The Runway – Rent The Runway surged more than 16% after its quarterly revenue came in well above Wall Street forecasts and the fashion rental company issued an upbeat sales forecast. The company also said its restructuring process was substantially complete.

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Peter Schacknow, Samantha Subin

Tesla shares fell almost 2% in premarket trading following a Bloomberg report that the company will shorten factory shifts in its factory in Shanghai and delay new hires.

Shifts will be reduced to 9.5 hours from 11.5 hours, effective Monday, according to the report. The news has investors worried that Chinese demand for electric cars isn’t meeting expectations. Tesla recently lowered prices in China to help drum up demand.

— Tanaya Macheel

Chevron gained 1.3% during Thursday’s premarket after the company lifted its capital spending expectations for 2023.

The company said Wednesday it will assign $17 billion to its capital expenditures budget next year. That’s near the top end of the itss guidance expectations.

— Samantha Subin

Exxon shares gained more than 1% before the bell Thursday after the company boosted its stock buybacks and shared plans to potentially double earnings and cash flows by 2027.

The oil giant said it would repurchase $50 billion worth of stock through 2024. That includes $15 billion by the end of this year.

— Samantha Subin

The pain may not be over for shares of Intel, according to Citi.

“It appears the share gains of Intel’s CPU business in 3Q22 have reversed and we expect AMD to gain back market share in 4Q22,” opening a negative catalyst watch on the chipmaker. “However, we expect a poor PC environment to persist into 2023 and downside to consensus estimates for Intel and AMD from the PC and data center food chains.”

It’s been a difficult year for the personal computer market as companies grapple with dwindling demand and sizeable inventories. Now, orders within the data center end market are fading, with a correction likely to occur during the first half of next year, wrote analyst Christopher Danely in a note to clients Thursday.

Within this area, Danely sees the biggest downside risks stemming from the enterprise market. While cautious on shares of Advanced Micro Devices, Danely called it one of the bank’s “favored names” coming out of the pending recession.

Intel shares are down 45% this year.

— Samantha Subin

Hershey shares rose more than 1% after UBS upgraded the candy giant to buy from hold.

“Our [near-term] confidence is underpinned by wrap-around price benefits in 2023 coupled with capacity additions, while our [long-term] confidence is driven by a more accommodative operating environment in Confection and a long runway of growth for sizable Snacks business,” UBS said in a note Wednesday.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Alex Harring

Retail investors haven’t been frightened away by the comedown in stocks this year.

In 2023, most individual investors plan to invest the same amount or more despite the cost-of-living crisis, according to a new survey from London-based investing insights platform Finimize.

The majority (72%) of the traders plan to back individual stocks next year, with 64% favoring Big Tech names like Apple, Microsoft, Google and Meta.

Read the full story here.

A shortage of semiconductors during a boom in electric-vehicle sales could help raise profits at a handful of chip makers, according to Bank of America.

The Wall Street bank predicted that two chip stocks could see their share prices rise by more than 75% on the back of that trend.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

GameStop reported a decline in revenue in its most recent quarter, as well as a sharp drop in its cash pile, as the video game retailer attempts to build up its digital strategy. The earnings results can’t be compared with estimates as too few analysts cover the company.

Still, the retail stock was up more than 4% in extended trading Wednesday.

— Sarah Min, Lillian Rizzo

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell can’t pause in his rate hiking campaign now, according to SoFi’s Liz Young.

“If you’re suggesting that him saving us would be a pause, a pivot, a downshift — something dovish — that would be the wrong move at this point. We still have CPI at about 7%. He’s backed into a corner,” Young said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.”

The head of investment strategy at SoFi pointed to November’s jobs report, which showed higher wage growth than expected. Average hourly earnings rose 0.6% last month, which was double what was forecasted by economists.

“That was not good news. So then you’ve got this fear of a wage price spiral that is still here hanging over our heads,” Young said.

“He can’t pause. He definitely can’t pivot. I don’t think he can pause yet, either. So that’s where I get to the point where it’s difficult for me to not see a recession in this scenario,” she added.

— Sarah Min

It’s been a tumultuous year for tech companies, as investors flee growth stocks in the face of rising interest rates, and other headwinds.

Apple has held up better amid the tech carnage, although there have been some headwinds.

Two investors faced off on CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Wednesday to make a case for and against buying the stock.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Shares of Rent the Runway soared more than 22% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the online retailer topped revenue expectations in its latest quarter, and raised its guidance for the year. Rising inflation spurred shoppers to save money with borrowed designer clothes.

During the regular session Wednesday, the stock closed at $1.36.

— Sarah Min, Melissa Repko

U.S. stock futures were little changed on Wednesday night following a fifth straight day of losses for the S&P 500 as Wall Street weighed the likelihood of a recession.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 9 points, or 0.03%. S&P 500 futures lost 0.03%, while Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.02%.

— Sarah Min