Stock market today: Live updates

A purchasing managers index focused on the manufacturing industry came in higher than economists expected on Thursday.

S&P Global’s flash U.S. manufacturing PMI climbed to 51.5 in February — a 17-month high from 50.7 the prior month. Economists polled by Dow Jones had anticipated the index would come in at 50.

On the other hand, the firm’s flash PMI for services fell to 51.3 from 52.5 between January and February. That’s below the forecast of 52.7 from economists surveyed by Dow Jones.

— Alex Harring

Existing home sales topped estimates in terms of total units but fell short in the rate of change, according to a National Association of Realtors report Thursday.

Sales totaled 4 million on the month, slightly ahead of the Dow Jones consensus outlook for 3.96 million. However, on a comparative level the increase was just 3.1%, compared to the expectation for 4.8%. Sales were off 1.7% from a year ago.

Total inventory edged higher to 1.01 million units, the equivalent of three months’ supply. The median sales price jumped to a fresh record $379,100, up 5.1% from a year ago.

—Jeff Cox

Federal Reserve Governor Philip Jefferson said Thursday he anticipates interest rate cuts this year but provided no timetable as he sees both upside and downside risks for the outlook.

“Our strong actions have moved our policy rate well into restrictive territory, and our restrictive stance of monetary policy is putting downward pressure on economic activity and inflation,” he said in prepared remarks for a speech at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C. “If the economy evolves broadly as expected, it will likely be appropriate to begin dialing back our policy restraint later this year.”

However, he cited three factors that could change things: more resilient consumer spending and geopolitical risks that could sustain inflation, and possible weakness in the labor market that could weaken the economy.

“I remain cautiously optimistic about our progress on inflation, and I will be reviewing the totality of incoming data in assessing the economic outlook and the risks surrounding the outlook and in judging the appropriate future course of monetary policy,” said Jefferson, a permanent voter on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee.

—Jeff Cox

Stocks opened higher on Thursday, boosted by the hope that artificial intelligence will continue to drive economic growth after Nvidia’s blockbuster earnings.

The S&P 500 opened 1.3% higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 225 points, or 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 2%.

The major averages are on pace for a fourth positive month in a row.

— Pia Singh

The number of individuals in the U.S. filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more-than-expected last week, suggesting strength in the labor market.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending on Feb. 17 totaled 201,000, which was a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to latest figures from the U.S. Department of Labor. Insured unemployment was 1,862,000 for the week ending Feb. 10. Claims are hovering at historically low levels, Reuters reported.

— Pia Singh

These are some of the stocks making notable moves before the bell:

• Nvidia — The closely watched chip giant’s stock jumped 13% in premarket trading after earnings released Wednesday afternoon blew past expectations amid the artificial intelligence boom. 
• Moderna — Shares were up more than 5% after the vaccine maker posted better-than-forecasted revenue for the fourth quarter.
• Lucid — Shares pulled back more than 7% after the luxury electric vehicle company missed revenue estimates in the final quarter of 2023.

See the full list here.

— Alex Harring

Shares of Moderna were up more than 5% in the premarket after the vaccine maker posted a greater-than-expected revenue for the fourth quarter. The company’s top line registered at $2.81 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG had forecast a print of $2.50 billion. Moderna also reported a surprise profit, boosted in part by deferred revenue.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 hit a record high Thursday, powered by banking, electronics and consumer stocks as robust earnings and investor-friendly measures fuel a blistering rally in Japanese equities this year.

The Nikkei 225 jumped nearly 2% to hit 39,029, surpassing the previous record high of 38,915.87 reached in 1989.

Both the Nikkei and the broader Topix have been standout outperformers in Asia Pacific, up more than 10% so far this year after surging more than 25% in 2023 — their respective best annual gains in at least a decade.

—Clement Tan

Japan’s Nikkei 225 led gains in Asia, briefly surpassing its1989 all-time high, powered by a mix of banking, electronics and consumer stocks.

The index climbed 1.92% on Thursday, with Aozora Bank being the biggest gainer, up 8.21%.

Electronics company Furukawa Electric and petrochemical firm Resonac Holdings rose 4.7% and 3.97% respectively.

Other index heavyweights were also in the green. Tokyo Electron advanced 5.74%, while Softbank gained 5.33%. Fast Retailing rose 2.41%.

—Lee Ying Shan

Shares of Lucid Group slid nearly 7% in extended trading after the electric vehicle company posted a revenue miss as losses widened. Lucid reported revenue of $157 million in the latest quarter, lower than an LSEG, formerly Refinitiv, estimate of $180 million.

Rivian Automotive‘s stock plunged 13% after the company reported steep losses and said it would cut 10% of its salaried workforce. Rivian expects EV production this year to be far lower than Wall Street expected, hurt by downtime for factory upgrades and slowing demand for EVs due to high interest rates.

— Yun Li

Nvidia’s closely watched Data Center business logged $18.4 billion in fourth-quarter sales, up 409% from the same period in the previous year.

The segment includes the company’s H100 graphics cards that are widely used to power generative artificial intelligence apps such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Nvidia’s data center unit has blossomed, particularly over the past three quarters. It’s the current market leader for supplying computer chips used for AI research and products.

— Yun Li, Jonathan Vanian