Dow and S&P 500 retreat from records as sticky inflation report weighs on stocks: Live updates

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Stocks finish lower after sticky inflation report

Stocks finished lower Thursday as Wall Street assessed a sticky consumer price index report for September.

The S&P 500 lost 0.21% to settle at 5,780.05, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 57.88 points, or 0.14%, to finish at 42,454.12. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.05% to end at 18,282.05.

— Samantha Subin

S&P 500

The broad market index lost 0.21% to settle at 5,780.05, while the Dow dropped 57.88 points, or 0.14%, to finish at 42,454.12. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.05% to end at 18,282.05.

"Clearly today is being driven mostly by the CPI report," said Luke O'Neill, portfolio manager at CooksonPeirce. "Not a huge surprise in most respects, but some of the underlying data is clearly a little bit hotter than anyone would prefer. On the margins, people are selling off small- and midcap stocks{

Small caps struggle

Small caps saw outsized losses on Thursday, extending their troubles seen this week.

The Russell 2000 slid 0.8% in morning trading, bringing its week-to-date loss to 1.3%. While the S&P 500 shed 0.2% in Thursday's session, it was up about 0.5% this week.

That reflects a broader trend of this group underperforming. The S&P 500 has climbed more than 21% in 2024, while the Russell 2000 has jumped less than 8%.

— Alex Harring

Wall Street digested September's consumer price index, which rose 0.2% on a monthly basis, bringing the annual inflation rate to 2.4% from the previous year. That came in ahead of the 0.1% monthly gain and 2.3% year-over-year rate expected by analysts polled by Dow Jones. The year-over-year number is the lowest since February 2021.

After the hot CPI, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic told The Wall Street Journal he was OK with standing pat at November's rate meeting, instead of cutting like the market wants. "This choppiness to me is along the lines of maybe we should take a pause in November. I'm definitely open to that," Bostic told the paper.

The data comes as concerns mount that the Federal Reserve may slow the pace of future cuts, and ahead of the central bank's first policy meeting after September's supersized move. Fed funds futures trading data suggests a roughly 85% likelihood of a quarter-percentage-point cut, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

Minutes from the latest meeting released Wednesday also appeared to signal some division over last month's half-percentage-point cut. Although the "substantial majority of participants" supported the cut, some favored a smaller move.

O'Neill views Thursday's data dump as further support for a 25 basis point reduction in November.

In other news, Universal Insurance surged about 12% as Hurricane Milton rippled through Florida. Meanwhile, Pfizer fell roughly 3% after activist investor Starboard Value accused the drug maker of threatening litigation against two former executives. Advanced Micro Devices fell 4% after launching a competing artificial intelligence chip to Nvidia.

Stocks finish lower after sticky inflation report

Stocks finished lower Thursday as Wall Street assessed a sticky consumer price index report for September.

The S&P 500 lost 0.21% to settle at 5,780.05, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 57.88 points, or 0.14%, to finish at 42,454.12. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.05% to end at 18,282.05.

— Samantha Subin

The S&P 500 typically rises during earnings season

The S&P 500 is near an all-time high, but it could see further upside with the upcoming earnings season, according to Oppenheimer.

The broad market index on Wednesday notched a fresh record close, a milestone that indicates the outlook for the benchmark continues to be rosy. On Thursday, it was last just slightly off its high.

But the ramp-up of earnings season could mean further gains. On a median basis, the S&P 500 gains 2% in the first four weeks of reporting, according to the technology, media and telecommunications desk at Oppenheimer.

The third-quarter earnings season unofficially kicks off Friday, with JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo due out before the open.

— Sarah Min

Managed futures funds focusing on short-term trades over inflation, DBi's Andrew Beer says

A potential inflation rebound has been lurking as a concern for some investors over the past few months, but the smart money at managed futures hedge funds has largely moved on, said Andrew Beer, co-founder and managing member of DBi.

"They're sort of done with the inflation trade," Beer told CNBC.

Beer's firm is the subadvisor for the iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF (DBMF), which attempts to mimic the major positions held by this segment of the hedge fund market. The exchange-traded fund has a five-star rating from Morningstar.

Managed futures strategies generally outperformed the broader market in 2022, when the stocks and bonds declined. This year, many of the hedge funds have been trading in and out of short-term positions, Beer said.

"The portfolios are very dynamic right now, because there's been a lot of change in the world. … Those kind of oscillations in the market have not been great for the overall space," Beer said.

The DBMF fund is up about 9.5% year to date, according to FactSet.

— Jesse Pound

Gordon Haskett consumer index hits 15-month high

Research firm Gordon Haskett's Consumer Macro Sentiment Index hit a 15-month high in September, boosted by improved outlooks for the stock market, job availability, business conditions and income.

The index reached 93.3, also marking the first time it passed its long-term average since February. Managing director Chuck Grom noted the survey was completed after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates last month.

Job security was the sole component of the index that declined, according to the firm.

— Alex Harring

Boeing leads Dow losses

Boeing shares dropped 2% Thursday, making it the biggest underperformer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Industrial giant 3M fell more than 1% on the day.

The 30-stock index slipped 0.4% overall.

Only seven stocks in the Dow were positive Thursday. Amazon gained 1.4%, followed by Chevron, which was up around 1%.

— Hakyung Kim

Jobless claims spike likely tied to storm, Boeing strike

A spike in jobless claims last week is likely tied to distortions from Hurricane Helene as well as the Boeing strike affecting workers in Michigan.

Initial filings for unemployment benefits jumped to 258,000, an increase of 33,000 from the previous week, well above the estimate for 230,000 and the highest since August 2023. However, nearly all of the gain can be traced to storm-hit states Florida and North Carolina, as well as Michigan, which is feeling the brunt of the Boeing strike by 33,000 workers.

What's more, this could be just the beginning of exogenous factors hitting the employment numbers, said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM.

"The sharp increase in jobless claims this morning was linked to hurricane-related distortions and was the tip of the spear with respect to the distortions to critical economic data in the near term," Brusuelas said.

— Jeff Cox

New highs swamp new lows in S&P 500 — including record for IBM

New 52-week highs are swamping new lows in the S&P 500 on Thursday, 14 to 2, and include International Business Machines — also in the Dow Jones Industrial Average — touching an all-time high. Several notable financial stocks — one of them the successor of the first stock ever listed on the New York Stock Exchange — also traded at all-time highs. Here are the 52-week highs in the S&P 500 at midday:

• Live Nation Entertainment (LYV) rose to highest since April 2022
• Netflix (NFLX) hit an all-time high going back to initial public offering in 2002
• T-Mobile US (TMUS) touched all-time high going back to a predecessor's IPO in 2007
• eBay (EBAY) traded at its highest since December 2021
• Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) was at its highest since April 2022
• Royal Caribbean (RCL) was at a record high going back to its 1993 IPO
• Ameriprise Financial (AMP) was at a record high going back to its 2005 IPO
• Aon (AON) rose to an all-time high
• Bank of NY Mellon (BK) was at an all-time high going back to the 2007 merger of Bank of New York (the first company ever listed on the NYSE) and Mellon Financial
• Brown & Brown (BRO) hit a record high going back to its initial 1997 NYSE listing
• State Street (STT) reached the highest since March 2023
• Fortinet (FTNT) climbed to the highest since July 2023
• International Business Machines (IBM) touched the highest ever, going back to its NYSE listing in 1962
• Air Products (APD) changed hands at the highest price since December 2022

New S&P 500 lows were recorded by Boeing (also in the Dow Industrials), which dropped to the lowest since November 2022, and Moderna, which fell to the lowest since September 2020.

— Scott Schnipper, Christopher Hayes

Wells Fargo Investment Institute sees economic growth picking up next year

Markets may be facing certain volatility and geopolitical uncertainty at the moment, but Wells Fargo Investment Institute sees economic growth picking up next year.

In a recent note, senior global market strategist Scott Wren pointed out that "a good degree of volatility" is normal in a late-cycle economy like this current one. For that reason, he is currently favoring large-cap domestic equities over their smid-cap and international counterparts.

But the strategist added that economic growth is likely to pick up going into the next year.

"We see better growth next year pushing interest rates, and inflation, somewhat higher by year-end," he said. "Should uncertainty over the pace of Fed rate cuts or other geopolitical tensions result in downside volatility in stocks in the coming months, we want to consider that an opportunity to further increase exposure to equities in anticipation of better performance as we move through 2025," he added.

— Lisa Kailai Han

UBS forecasts signs of 'near-term softening' this quarterly earnings season

Quarterly earnings could see some softness this time around, according to UBS.

"Over the past 3 quarters, S&P 500 EPS growth has come in above the long-term average, and is expected to remain robust through year-end 2025 and beyond," chief U.S. equity strategist Jonathan Golub said. "That said, there are signs of near-term softening worth noting."

"This forecasted softness is broad-based, with growth slower in 8 of 11 sectors and 66% of companies," he added.

According to Golub, third-quarter earnings per share are forecast to have grown 4% compared to 11.6% in this second quarter. This growth should ultimately finish closer to 7.5% after surprises, he said, noting that would represent a deceleration from the prior quarter.

Looking only at Big Tech's diminishing contributions to the broader market's growth, Golub noted that the six megacap tech names grew their earnings per share by 68.2% in the fourth quarter of 2023, but are expected to grow 19.3% this quarter.

— Pia Singh

Tech leads weekly gain

Information technology is up 2.4% week to date, outperforming the S&P 500's 0.4% gain.

The only other positive sectors for the week are materials, health care and industrials, which are all up less than 1%.

Meanwhile, utilities is the biggest underperformer, down 3% for the week.

— Hakyung Kim

AMD shares fall more than 3% even as chipmaker unveils new AI chips

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices dropped roughly 3.6% in afternoon trading Thursday, even after the company announced new artificial intelligence chips.

The company is hosting its "Advancing AI 2024" event in San Francisco, where it announced a new version of its Instinct MI325X AI chip, which it plans to begin mass producing in the fourth quarter of the year to increase competition against Nvidia. The company also announced it plans to release its next-generation MI350 series chips — which boast increased memory and improved performance over the MI300X and MI250X — in the second half of next year.

AMD also announced the availability of a new version of its central processing unit, 5th Gen EPYC, formerly known as "Turin," alongside several other chips that are aimed to help speed the process of moving data between chips and systems inside data centers.

Shares of the chipmaker are up nearly 11.3% this year, and have run up about 14.7% over the past month.

— Pia Singh, Reuters

China stocks advance Thursday

China stocks are higher Thursday, recouping some of their losses from earlier this week.

The iShares China Large-Cap ETF rose 2.3% during midday trading. Some advancers include the U.S.-listed shares of Tencent Music Entertainment Group, which gained 1.8%, and Alibaba, which was up 1.3%. Shares of JD.com climbed 1%.

That comes after a tumultuous week for Chinese equities. On Wednesday, the Shenzhen Composite (.SZSC) tumbled 8.65% in its worst day going back to May 1997. On Tuesday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index posted its worst day in 16 years, falling 9.41%.

— Sarah Min, Gina Francolla

Shares of TD Bank fall after bank's guilty plea in money laundering case

TD Bank pleaded guilty to criminal money laundering-related charges and agreed to pay about $3 billion in fines to the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday, sending the stock down about 5% in midday trading.

The case revolved around TD Bank's failure to monitor money laundering by drug cartels. As part of the settlement, a monitor will oversee the bank's compliance with money laundering prevention practices for three years.

The Federal Reserve fined TD Bank more than $124 million for violations related to anti-money laundering laws, saying the bank "failed to conduct risk management and oversight of its retail banking operations in the United States."

— Dan Mangan, Michelle Fox

Oil rallies 3% as Milton causes run on gas stations, market waits for Israel strike

Crude oil futures jumped about 3% on Thursday as Hurricane Milton caused a run on gas stations in Florida and the market waits for Israel to strike Iran.

U.S. crude oil was up $2.71, or 3.7%, at $75.95 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent jumped $2.82, or 3.7%, to $79.42 per barrel.

Nearly 25% of Florida's gas stations are out of fuel after a surge in demand due to people evacuating from the path of Hurricane Milton, according to GasBuddy data.

In the Middle East, Israel's security cabinet was expected to meet Thursday to discuss the country's response to Iran's ballistic missile attack last week.

Traders fear Israel could hit Iran's oil facilities, though President Joe Biden has discouraged such a move and the Gulf Arab states are reportedly lobbying the White House to pressure Israel to spare energy infrastructure.

— Spencer Kimball

Fed's Bostic indicates no rate cut in November is possible

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said Thursday he would consider holding interest rates steady at the November meeting, or cutting, depending on how the economy unfolds.

"I am totally comfortable with skipping a meeting if the data suggests that's appropriate," Bostic, a voting member this year on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, told The Wall Street Journal.

Reports showing inflation is easing but still away from the Fed's 2% target along with strength in the labor market suggest that "maybe we should take a pause in November," Bostic said, though he added that he would also be open to another quarter-percentage-point reduction.

— Jeff Cox

First Solar, Tesla, CVS among stocks making biggest midday moves

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading:

• First Solar — The solar stock slipped 8%, on pace for its worst day since July 15, after Jefferies cut its price target on the stock and said it expects First Solar's third-quarter report to disappoint. Jefferies maintained its buy rating on the stock but said near-term challenges such as ongoing supply chain and labor shortages should continue into 2025. Solar systems maker Enphase Energy also slid 4%.
• Tesla — The stock was little changed ahead of the electric vehicle maker's robotaxi event Thursday after the bell. Investors expect Tesla to announce a Cybercab robotaxi prototype alongside advancements in driver assistance features and artificial intelligence capabilities.
• Toronto-Dominion Bank — Shares of the Canadian bank lost 3.8% after The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources, that TD is expected to pay about $3 billion in penalties and have limits on its U.S. business as part of a settlement over money laundering charges.

For more, read here.

— Pia Singh

Trump Media slated for best week since March

Trump Media shares soared more than 14% during Thursday's session, putting the stock on pace for its fifth positive day in the past six and its best week since March 28, when it advanced more than 67%.

Shares have jumped more than 42% this week and more than 34% this year. The rally also puts Trump Media up around 100% from its 52-week low.

This comes as the Truth Social operator — which is majority-owned by former President Donald Trump — launched its Truth+ streaming app for Android devices.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday that the Republican presidential nominee said he supports lowering taxes for U.S. citizens living abroad.

— Sean Conlon, Gina Francolla

Small caps struggle

Small caps saw outsized losses on Thursday, extending their troubles seen this week.

The Russell 2000 slid 0.8% in morning trading, bringing its week-to-date loss to 1.3%. While the S&P 500 shed 0.2% in Thursday's session, it was up about 0.5% this week.

That reflects a broader trend of this group underperforming. The S&P 500 has climbed more than 21% in 2024, while the Russell 2000 has jumped less than 8%.

— Alex Harring

Hedge funds do a 180 on China stocks

Hedge funds that recently piled into Chinese stocks on stimulus hopes just did an about-face.

Professional traders posted the largest single-day net selling of Chinese securities, both onshore and offshore, on Tuesday, according to Goldman Sachs' prime brokerage data. The net selling was 1.4 times larger than the previous record, Goldman said.

The record exodus came after the National Development and Reform Commission earlier this week provided few details on further stimulus measures to boost the world's second-largest economy. Local officials said China will speed up special purpose bond issuance to local governments to support regional economic growth, but stopped short of announcing any new major spending plans.

— Yun Li

Solar stocks decline, Jefferies cuts price target on First Solar

Solar stocks declined during early-morning trading Thursday.

The sector-wide move came after Jefferies lowered its price target on shares of First Solar to $266 from $271, citing expectations for a third-quarter miss and lower volume. Shares shed more than 7%.

Sunrun lost about 7%, while Enphase Energy and Nextracker fell about 4% each. Sunnova Energy was last down 3%.

— Samantha Subin, Adrian van Hauwermeiren

Stocks open lower Thursday

Stocks opened lower Thursday following a sticky inflation report.

The S&P 500 lost 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.2%, or 83 points.

— Samantha Subin

Delta, CVS among the names making moves premarket

There are some stocks making big moves in premarket trading:

• Delta Air Lines — Shares fell nearly 5% after the airliner provided disappointing fourth-quarter revenue guidance. Delta anticipates revenue will rise between 2% and 4% from a year earlier, less than the 4.1% estimate, per LSEG. Third-quarter earnings per share and revenue also came in below expectations. 
• 10x Genomics — Shares fell around 26% after the single-cell market leader announced it expects third-quarter revenue to come in at $151.7 million, which is about a 1% decrease from the same period a year ago. CEO Serge Saxonov said the transition the company experienced due to recent changes to its commercial processes and organization was "more disruptive than we anticipated, especially in the Americas."
• CVS Health — Shares of the pharmacy chain added 1.9% on the back of an upgrade to overweight from equal weight by Barclays. The firm said there is a "compelling margin recovery opportunity" for CVS.

Read here for the full list.

— Sean Conlon

CPI rises more than expected in September

The consumer price index rose more than expected, raising further doubt that the Fed will be able to cut rates by another half percentage point.

The consumer price index rose 0.2% in September on a month-over-month basis and 2.4% from the year-earlier period. Economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast a 0.1% gain month over month and a 2.3% increase year over year.

— Fred Imbert

Goldman says these insurance stocks are potentially most exposed to Hurricane Milton damage

As Florida assesses how much damage Hurricane Milton caused, Goldman Sachs sees these insurance stocks as potentially the most exposed as a percentage of book value:

• Fidelis Insurance Holdings, up 1.6% premarket
• Chubb, up 0.5% premarket
• Progressive, up 0.89% premarket
• Allstate, up 1.13% premarket

Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Siesta Key. Insurance stocks may be slightly positive in relief that Milton did not slam into Florida as a Category 5 hurricane, and did not make landfall in the densely populated Tampa Bay area.

— Spencer Kimball

Universal Insurance surges, Generac tumbles as Florida assesses Milton damage

Universal Insurance surged more than 9%, while power generator maker Generac tumbled more than 2% as Florida assessed the damage from Hurricane Milton.

Insurance stocks were broadly positive with Allstate, Progressive, Chubb and Fidelis Insurance all up more than 1% in morning trading. The insurers were likely rising in relief that Hurricane Milton was not as severe as originally anticipated, though damage assessments are just beginning.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told CNBC on Thursday that Florida had avoided the worst-case scenario, a major hurricane hitting the densely populated Tampa Bay area.

Earlier in the week, Milton was a Category 5 hurricane that appeared on track to hit Tampa Bay, but the storm weakened into Category 3 before making landfall near Siesta Key.

— Spencer Kimball

Delta falls after mixed earnings report

Delta Air Lines shares were down more than 5% in the premarket after the airline posted mixed quarterly results.

The company earned an adjusted $1.50 per share on revenue of $14.59 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG expected a profit of $1.52 per share on revenue of $14.67 billion. That said, Delta still expects solid fourth-quarter earnings despite lower demand around the election.

— Fred Imbert

Generac shares fall as Hurricane Milton batters Florida

Shares of power generator builder Generac were down more than 2% in the premarket as Hurricane Milton batters Florida. The stock had been rising as the storm approached the state's west coast. Week to date, it is up 9%.

Insurance stocks Progressive, AIG and Travelers rose slightly.

— Fred Imbert

European markets open slightly higher

European markets opened marginally higher Thursday as investors await the latest U.S. inflation data for more signs that price pressures are easing.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.15% in opening trade, with sectors and major bourses diverging.

Insurance stocks led gains, up 0.61%, as Hurricane Milton's devastating hit to Florida pointed to stronger prospects for the sector. On the other end, autos shed 0.84% as competition pressures add to continued troubles for European carmakers.

— Karen Gilchrist

Signs of a thawing housing market ahead, says U.S. Bank

The tailwinds from a lower interest rate environment are helping to revive the housing market again, which could be a positive catalyst in 2025, according to U.S. Bank.

Expectations for further rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and slowing inflation are helping to bring down mortgage levels to their lowest levels in two years.

"Lower mortgage rates are breathing some life back into the housing market, evidenced by a ramp up in weekly mortgage applications by almost 50% since the end of July, to the highest point since mid-2022, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association," said Tom Hainlin, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank.

"Lower mortgage rates should push up housing demand, bring some additional inventory online, and provide a modest boost to home sales and housing-related consumer spending," Hainlin added.

— Hakyung Kim

Stock futures open flat Wednesday

U.S. stock futures were little changed Wednesday night.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped just 17 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.1% each.

Hakyung Kim