US close: Stocks hit three-week high after third straight gain
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Thursday 24 Apr 2025
(Sharecast News) - US stocks gained strongly for third straight day on Thursday, with decent performances in the tech sector providing a big boost, as hopes continued to rise that trade tensions between the US and China were cooling.
The Dow rose 1.2%, the S&P 500 gained 2.0% while the Nasdaq surged 2.7% - with the latter two indices finishing at their highest levels since 2 April, the day when the Trump administration unveiled sweeping tariffs on America's trading partners.
Markets have been clawing back after a volatile few weeks after Donald Trump said that he would play "very nice" with China. The remarks followed comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent who said earlier in the week that the US had the "opportunity for a big deal" on trade.
However, China claimed that no trade talks are currently taking place with the US, and that "all sayings" regarding progress between the two nations should be disregarded. Beijing also stated that in order for any talks to commence, the Trump administration would have to cancel all "unilateral" tariffs.
Nevertheless, market sentiment was being supported by Trump's comments on Tuesday that he would not try to oust "major loser" Jerome Powell from his role as Federal Reserve chairman, quashing concerns that potential White House involvement at the central bank would raise economic uncertainty.
Meanwhile, there was plenty of US economic data for investors to seek their teeth into: jobless claims edged higher, durable goods surged more than expected, while existing home sales slumped.
Market movers
PepsiCo's first-quarter earnings missed Wall Street estimates on Thursday, even as its revenue performance topped projections. The soft drinks giant also lowered its full-year forecast for core constant currency earnings per share as a result of new tariffs, economic volatility and a more cautious consumer.
Tech stocks were generally performing well, with heavyweights Apple, Amazon.com, Nvidia and Microsoft providing a lift.
IBM was bucking the trend, however, after gloomy comments from chief executive Arvind Krishna, who said macro uncertainty might prompt a "wait-and-see approach" from customers. While quarterly results beat forecasts, the company revealed that 15 of its government contracts were lost due to DOGE-related cost-cutting.
A host of other companies were making moves after releasing quarterly figures: Procter & Gamble dropped after lowering full-year guidance, while American Airlines gained after posting a smaller-than-estimated loss, and ServiceNow and Lam Research impressed with forecast-beating profits.
Economic data
On the macro front, the Department of Labor reported that initial jobless claims rose by 6,000 to 222,000 last week, in line with market expectations, while continuing claims unexpectedly fell by 37,000 to a two-month low of 1.84m. The four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, decreased by 750 to 220,250.
US durable goods orders surged 9.2% in March to $315.73bn as Boeing ramped up its production cadence, according to the Department of Commerce. This was well ahead of the 0.9% increase seen in February and the 2% growth expected by the market. However, excluding those from the transportation sector, orders were roughly flat at $191.12bn.
US existing home sales declined 5.6% month-on-month to a seasonally adjusted annualised rate of 4.02m in March, according to the National Association of Realtors, despite a slight pullback in benchmark borrowing costs in the period. The consensus estimate was for a 3% decrease.
Elsewhere, the Chicago Federal Reserve's national activity index fell to -0.03 in March, down from +0.24 in February, indicating that regional growth was weaker than the long-term average. Two of the four broad categories of indicators decreased month-on-month, while three categories made negative contributions.
Dow Jones - Risers
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $264.36 5.54%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.49 4.57%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $306.86 3.75%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $90.01 3.12%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $545.37 3.03%
American Express Co. (AXP) $267.43 2.80%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $387.30 2.71%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $29.77 2.66%
Boeing Co. (BA) $176.26 2.26%
3M Co. (MMM) $138.88 2.07%
Dow Jones - Fallers
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $229.33 -6.58%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $159.60 -3.70%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $72.51 -1.08%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $279.84 -1.04%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $424.25 -0.87%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $316.22 -0.71%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $56.29 -0.57%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $154.92 -0.30%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $11.03 -0.09%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
S&P 500 - Risers
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $60.37 11.03%
Allegion (ALLE) $139.51 10.32%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $47.12 10.22%
Resmed Inc. (RMD) $236.20 10.15%
United Rentals Inc. (URI) $647.44 9.88%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $27.48 9.78%
Amphenol Corp. (APH) $76.11 6.97%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $37.63 6.93%
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) $75.09 6.57%
Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $75.29 6.40%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Fiserv Inc. (FI) $176.89 -18.52%
LKQ Corporation (LKQ) $37.26 -12.94%
Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $41.51 -9.98%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $229.33 -6.58%
Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (WTW) $307.06 -6.24%
PepsiCo Inc (PEP) $135.31 -5.54%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $49.00 -5.26%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $33.19 -4.71%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $69.05 -4.48%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $159.60 -3.70%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $60.37 11.03%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $47.12 10.22%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $162.13 6.40%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $70.90 5.99%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $188.15 5.31%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $1,096.46 5.30%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $195.23 4.89%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $281.78 4.79%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $222.71 4.65%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.49 4.57%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Fiserv Inc. (FI) $176.89 -18.52%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $32.47 -5.03%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $33.19 -4.71%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $81.18 -3.66%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $65.51 -3.35%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $9.61 -3.27%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $1,352.17 -3.07%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $57.62 -2.86%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $159.55 -1.66%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $288.24 -1.55%
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