Nasdaq 100 Sets New Records, Small Caps Outperform: What's Moving Markets Thursday?

U.S. equities climbed on Thursday, with the S&P 500 briefly testing a record high 6,300 level at midday in New York, bolstered by strong earnings and upbeat retail sales data that reinforced investor risk appetite.

The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9% to a fresh record above 23,000, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4% to 44,400. Small-cap stocks continued to outperform, with the Russell 2000 advancing 1.3%.

Retail sales rebounded in June, rising 0.6% month-over-month after a revised 0.9% drop in May, far exceeding consensus expectations of a 0.1% gain. Meanwhile, initial jobless claims fell to 221,000, the lowest since April, suggesting ongoing resilience in the labor market.

Investor nerves eased after President Donald Trump denied reports suggesting he was considering the removal of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Tech-led sector gains, with the combined market capitalization of the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks climbing to $18.4 trillion.

Bond market jitters persisted as 30-year Treasury yields touched 5%, though equity markets largely shrugged off the move.

The U.S. dollar strengthened 0.4%. Commodities rallied, driven by a 1.6% rise in oil prices to above $67 per barrel, while platinum hit its highest level since August 2014.

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) held steady around $118,870. Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) rose 1.3%, extending its winning streak to nine gains in the last 10 sessions.

Thursday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) rose 0.5% to $576.76.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) rose 0.5% to $444.72.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) rallied 0.8% to $561.85.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) soared 1.2% to $223.68.
• The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) outperformed, up 0.9%; the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV) lagged, down 0.8%.

Thursday’s Stock Movers

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) shares climbed over 6% after the beverage giant reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analyst expectations.

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) rose 5.7% earlier in the day, despite issuing a muted full-year earnings outlook. The company noted that its financial trajectory has become more predictable compared to the volatile first half of the year.

Earnings-driven stock moves included:

• Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), down 8%
• GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE), down 2.2%
• Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV), down 11%
• Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS), up 2.7%
• U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB), down 1.4%
• The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV), up 2.8%
• Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG), up 3.5%

Lucid Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID) soared more than 40% after unveiling a partnership with Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) and autonomous vehicle startup Nuro to launch a robotaxi program. The initiative will deploy 20,000 autonomous vehicles, backed by a $300 million investment from Uber.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is scheduled to report its earnings after the closing bell.

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