Stocks Today: Live Updates

Stocks opened lower on Thursday, with stocks selling off after fresh gross domestic product data signaled signs of slowing economic growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 500 points or 1.3 per cent. The S&P 500 retreated 1.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite 2.3%.

– Brian Evans

U.S. gross domestic product fell in the first quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Thursday, weighing on stock futures ahead of the opening bell.

GDP grew by 1.6% in the first quarter, while economists polled by Dow Jones predicted growth of 2.4%.

– Brian Evans

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

Meta platforms — Facebook parent company fell more than 14% after issuing weaker-than-expected second-quarter revenue guidance. However, earnings and revenue in the first quarter both came in above analysts’ estimates.

Honeywell — The industrial stock rose 2.2% in premarket trading after the company posted earnings per share at $2.25, beating LSEG analysts’ estimates of $2.17. Revenue for the quarter came in at $9.11 billion, compared to the $9.03 billion analysts had expected.

Merck — The pharmaceutical giant added 2.1% on stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings. Merck earned an adjusted $2.07 per share on $15.78 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG expect $1.88 earnings per share. stock and $15.2 billion in revenue.

The full list can be found here.

—Hakyung Kim

Shares of Caterpillar fell more than 3% in early trading after the construction equipment company reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter sales.

The company generated $5.60 in adjusted earnings per share on $15.8 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were looking for $5.14 a share on $16.04 billion in revenue.

Sales fell year over year, including a decline in the construction industry segment, which is Caterpillar’s largest.

“The decrease in sales volume was primarily driven by lower end-user equipment sales; there was not a significant impact from changes in dealer inventories,” Caterpillar said in a press release.

—Jesse Pound

Airlines Southwest and American diverged in premarket trading as investors reacted to their first-quarter earnings reports.

Southwest fell more than 7% after missing Wall Street expectations on both lines. That saw 36 cents in adjusted loss per share. stock on $6.33 billion in revenue, while analysts surveyed by LSEG forecast a loss of just 34 cents on revenue of $6.42 billion.

Southwest warned that delays from Boeing could hurt its growth into 2025.

On the other hand, American added more than 4%. Despite also coming in below analysts’ forecasts on both lines, investors appeared to be focused on stronger-than-expected guidance for the current quarter.

American posted an adjusted loss of 34 cents on revenue of $12.57 billion in the first quarter. That’s below consensus estimates from analysts surveyed by LSEG for a loss of 29 cents and $12.6 billion in revenue.

—Alex Harring, Leslie Josephs

Honeywell rose in premarket trading after reporting its financial results for the latest quarter.

The industrial company had earnings per per share of $2.25, beating analysts’ estimates of $2.17, according to LSEG. Revenue for the quarter came in at $9.11 billion, compared to the $9.03 billion analysts had expected.

The shares had last risen by 1.8 per cent.

— Tanaya Machel

Merck shares rose nearly 2% before the bell Thursday as first-quarter earnings came in above expectations.

The pharmaceutical giant earned an adjusted $2.07 per share on $15.78 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG expected just $1.88 in earnings per share. stock and $15.2 billion in revenue.

Merck was helped during the period by strong sales of its vaccination products and the Keytruda cancer drug. Shares of the stock, which is part of the Dow, are up more than 16% in 2024.

—Alex Harring, Annika Kim Constantino

Chipotle Mexican Grill shares rose 3.2% in premarket trading Thursday on the back of a better-than-expected quarterly print.

The burrito chain on Wednesday reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ expectations, driven by higher traffic to its restaurants. Earnings per share came out at $13.37, excluding items, while analysts polled by LSEG had called for $11.68 per share. stock. Chipotle had $2.7 billion in revenue, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 billion.

Chipotle saw traffic growth across income groups during the quarter, CEO Brian Niccol said. Customers have continued to flock to the restaurant chain even after it raised its prices in October, citing inflation.

For more on Chipotle’s earnings, read here.

—Pia Singh

European shares opened slightly higher on Wednesday, with the benchmark Stoxx 600 index down 0.2% at 8:15 London time.

Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5% after it snapped a five-day winning streak on Thursday, while France’s CAC 40 was 0.2% lower and Germany’s DAX fell 0.5%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was down 2.1% in afternoon trade, while the broader Topix index fell 1.64%.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 is down 8.3% from a record high in late March.

Investors await the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy decision on Friday. It will be closely watched for inflation prospects amid a weakening yen, higher oil prices and strong wage growth.

The yen slipped past 155 against the US dollar on Thursday, hitting a new 34-year low.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Shares in South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix fell nearly 3% despite the company posting its highest operating profit in nearly two years.

The chipmaker recorded 2.89 trillion South Korean won ($2.1 billion) in operating profit for the first quarter of 2024, a jump of 734% year-on-year, with net profit of 1.92 trillion won.

Revenue for the fourth quarter came in at 12.43 trillion won, an all-time high for the quarter.

SK Hynix explained that this was due to an increase in sales of AI server products, “supported by its leadership in AI memory technology.”

The company also added that it “believes it has entered the phase of a clear recovery after an extended downturn.”

— Lim Hui Jie

South Korea posted GDP growth of 3.4% in the first quarter, beating the 2.4% expected by economists polled by Reuters and marking its highest quarterly growth since the fourth quarter of 2021.

On a quarterly basis, GDP rose 1.3%, also beating Reuters expectations of 0.6%.

Exports from South Korea rose 0.9% in the first quarter as exports of IT goods such as mobile phones rose. Imports fell by 0.7% as a result of falling imports of electronic equipment.

— Lim Hui Jie

iCapital investment strategist Anastasia Amoroso believes there is a good chance the S&P 500 could rise to 5,500 by the end of the year.

The broader market index closed Wednesday afternoon at 5,071.63. This target would mark an 8% increase for the benchmark.

“I think investors are getting another entry point here, which is pretty attractive,” she said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” Wednesday afternoon. Amoroso specifically singled out semiconductor stocks for their potential to outperform going forward.

As catalysts for an encouraging equity backdrop, the strategist cited strong corporate earnings and consumer spending, along with an increase in global manufacturing momentum.

—Lisa Kailai Han

Here are the stocks that move the most during extended trading hours:

—Lisa Kailai Han