Tech companies, led by Apple, powered the market Thursday and pulled the major averages into positive territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 201.94 points, or 0.54%, rebounding from its 143.72-point loss earlier in the trading session. The 30-stock index finished at 37,468.61. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.35% to close at 15,055.65. The S&P 500 climbed 0.88% to end at 4,780.94, now just 15.62 points, or 0.33%, from its closing record.

Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are now positive in 2024, up 0.30% and 0.23%, respectively. The Dow remains negative on the year, down 0.59%.

Apple shares advanced around 3.3% after Bank of America upgraded the stock to buy, calling for more than 20% upside over the next 12 months. The tech giant had its best day since May 5, 2023. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) also popped about 2%, reaching an all-time high.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's largest chipmaker, added 9.8% after posting an earnings and revenue beat for the fourth quarter. This helped push the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) up more than 3% to reach an all-time high.

Tech shares have "gotten a boost today from the TSMC update, which had a lot of positivity on forward guidance for semiconductors and AI, to the extent that's what most of these companies are trading on. You can see the price action move to that," said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird.

"As the macro environment evolves this year, if there's still tailwind for AI, it's going to show up in the in the stocks most levered [towards] AI," Mayfield added.

The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.14% on Thursday as fresh jobs data indicated ongoing tightness in the labor market. First-time filings for unemployment insurance came in at 187,000 for the week ended Jan. 13, down 16,000 from the previous period, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was stronger than economists' consensus estimate of 208,000, according to numbers gathered by Dow Jones.

Investors are concerned that a buoyant labor market coupled with robust consumer spending, reflected in Wednesday's retail sales report for December, may mean fewer rate cuts from the Federal Reserve than many are expecting. Currently, markets are pricing in a roughly 56% chance of a quarter percentage point rate cut in March, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

"The market really got ahead of itself last year on rate cuts, [when] we got as low as [around] 3.8% on the 10-year," said Jay Hatfield, CEO at Infrastructure Capital Management. "Tech is viewed as a safe haven when rates are rising. … So you're seeing that dynamic now play out."

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic on Thursday said he expects the central bank to start reducing rates in the third quarter. While that's sooner than Bostic previously had expected, it also puts the Fed on a slower cutting pace than the market is anticipating.

Correction: Raphael Bostic is the president of the Atlanta Fed. An earlier version misidentified his district.

Major averages end Thursday's session higher

Stocks closed in the green Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite turning positive for the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 202 points, or 0.54%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each rose 0.88% and 1.35% for the day, pulling them up for the year by 0.23% and 0.30%, respectively.

— Hakyung Kim

Oil rises on demand forecast, U.S. crude withdrawal

Oil prices rose on Thursday on solid demand growth forecasts for 2024 and a large U.S. crude inventory withdrawal.

The West Texas Intermediate futures contract rose $1.52. or 2.09%, to settle a $74.08 a barrel. The Brent futures contract for March rose $1.22, or 1.57%, to settle at $79.10 a barrel.

The International Energy Agency forecast that crude demand would rise by 1.2 million barrels per day in 2024, while OPEC put the figure at 1.8 million barrels per day.

The U.S. also drew 2.5 million barrels from its crude inventories for the week ending Jan. 12, which was larger than expected.

— Spencer Kimball

Sports gambling stocks rise after Flutter update on revenue, US listing

Stocks tied to sports gambling rose on Thursday after Flutter Entertainment – FanDuel's UK-based parent company — reported a 53% jump in sportsbook stakes year-over-year in the United States for the fourth quarter. Flutter also reaffirmed its plan to list its stock in New York, with a target date of Jan. 29.

Shares of Flutter in London rose more than 15%. In the U.S., DraftKings jumped 5.8%, while Caesars Entertainment rose more than 4%.

— Jesse Pound

These are the stocks boosting the Nasdaq

The Nasdaq Composite and concentrated Nasdaq-100 rose more than 1% each during Thursday's session, led to the upside by some popular technology names.

Fastenal led the pack, surging more than 6%, while popular semiconductor stocks KLA Corporation, ASML, Marvell Technology, Qualcomm and Applied Materials jumped more than 4% each.

Apple rose more than 3% on the back of an upgrade from Bank of America, while Alphabet, Nvidia and Meta Platforms gained more than 1%

— Samantha Subin

Spirit Airlines falls another 25% in wake of failed takeover by JetBlue

Spirit Airlines shares were down another 24% on Thursday as the company weighs refinancing options after a judge blocked JetBlue's planned $3.8 billion takeover bid earlier this week.

The nearly 70% drop this week has knocked off more than $1 billion in Spirit's market capitalization compared with Friday's close, before the federal judge's ruling.

Spirit is considering refinancing options for its debt, according to a person familiar with the matter, though the company has had challenges before the JetBlue takeover was rejected: grounded planes, higher costs and softening bookings.

"Spirit has been taking, and will continue to take, prudent steps to ensure the strength of its balance sheet and ongoing operations," a Spirit spokesperson said in a statement.--Leslie Josephs

'Defense wins games,' says SoFi's Liz Young

Liz Young, head of investment strategy at SoFi, recommends investors prepare their portfolios against a potential drop in yields in 2024.

"Defense wins game," Young wrote in a Thursday note. "In 2024, we are expecting the Fed to start cutting rates, which could start to make those high yielding, low risk assets such as money market funds less attractive as the year goes on."

To be sure, she noted that money market funds are still generating "attractive income."

"But if rates fall throughout the year, investors may want to consider other assets that can offer a yield and some price potential in times of stress," added Young.

— Hakyung Kim

Stocks making midday moves

Here are some of the companies making the biggest moves during midday trading:

• MDC Holdings — Shares soared more than 18% after Sekisui House reached a $4.95 billion deal to buy MDC. The Japanese homebuilder will pay $63 per share in cash, about 19% above where MDC closed on Wednesday.
• Spirit Airlines — The airline stock tumbled 24% amid continued fallout from the budget airline's blocked proposed merger with JetBlue. Spirit, which tanked 60% the first three trading days of the week, was also downgraded to sell from neutral by Citi on Thursday.
• Birkenstock — Shares sank 9.3% after the German shoe company warned that its full-year earnings will come under pressure as it pursues a global expansion. It was Birkenstock's first earnings report since its October initial public offering.

To see more stocks moving in midday trading, read the full story here.

— Michelle Fox

Richemont shares jump 10%

Jewelry and watch company Richemont, parent company of Cartier, saw its U.S.-traded shares rally 9.4% after posting better-than-expected quarterly results.

Richemont reported 8% year-over-year sales growth, marking its highest-ever level of quarterly sales. The company underscored strong demand across the Greater China region, where sales surged 25% from the previous quarter. Sales also grew sharply in Japan.

U.S.-traded shares of luxury competitor LVMH also gained 1.7% on the back of the news.

— Hakyung Kim

Humana shares plunge 12%

Health insurance company Humana declined 12.1% to a new 52-week low following disappointing quarterly results. The company also reported a medical loss ratio of 91.4%, missing estimates by nearly 150 basis points.

Humana's underperformance also pulled several healthcare stocks lower for the day. CVS and Centene each fell 5.6% and 3.1%.

— Hakyung Kim, Bertha Coombs

AMD, Nvidia, Boston Scientific, Domino's Pizza among 18 S&P 500 names reaching fresh highs

Chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia are among several S&P 500 names to reach 52-week highs on Thursday. AMD traded at all-time high levels not seen since the company's IPO in September 1972, while Nvidia shares were at levels not seen since January 1999. Other tech and software companies, industrial names and a couple hotel chains also reached fresh heights.

Here are some of the names that reached all-time highs:

• Hilton Worldwide trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in December 2013
• Marriott International trading at all-time high levels back through its spin-off from Marriott Corp in 1993
• Domino's Pizza trading at levels not seen since Mar, 2022
• ServiceNow trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in June, 201
• Western Digital trading at levels not seen since June, 2022
• Ingersoll-Rand trading at all-time high levels back through our history to 1972
• Boston Scientific trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in May, 1992
• Intuitive Surgical trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in June, 2000

Stocks in the broad market index that reached new 52-week lows include Devon Energy, Exxon Mobil and Humana.

— Pia Singh, Christopher Hayes

Semiconductor ETF hits an all-time high

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF, which tracks 26 chipmakers, jumped more than 3% to hit an all-time high. Its biggest holding Nvidia, with a 19.5% weighting, gained 2.4%. Meanwhile, the fund's second largest holding Taiwan Semiconductor surged 8.4% after the company posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue.

— Yun Li

Thursday advance brings Nasdaq near positive territory on year

Thursday's rally in technology stocks pushed the Nasdaq Composite near green on the year.

The tech-heavy index gained about 1% in the session, helped by advances in Apple, Meta and chip stocks. That jump has brought the Nasdaq around its flatline for the year.

It's the only of the three major indexes within striking distance of positive territory compared with 2024's starting level. The broad S&P 500 has slid 0.3% since the start of the new year, while the blue-chip Dow dropped 1.3%.

— Alex Harring

UnitedHealth drags on Dow

The Dow underperformed in Thursday's session, weighed down by a drop in UnitedHealth shares.

The blue-chip average traded near flat in the session, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite added 0.5% and 1.1%, respectively.

Part of that underperformance stems from a slide of more than 3% in UnitedHealth, making it the worst performer in the 30-stock index. Chevron and American Express were the next two biggest losers, with each shedding about 1%.

Those losses mitigated notable gains seen among other Dow members. Boeing led the index with a gain of nearly 3%, making up some ground after weeks of losses. Apple and Intel posted the next biggest advances, with each also up more than 2%.

The Dow is on track to finish the week down 0.9%.

— Alex Harring

Fastenal rallies, heads for best day since March 2020

Shares of distribution giant Fastenal surged 8% on Thursday on the back of strong fourth-quarter results. The company earned 46 cents per share on revenue of $1.76 billion. Analysts polled by StreetAccount expected a profit of 45 cents per share on revenue of $1.75 billion.

Fastenal also said unit sales were higher during the quarter due to "growth at our Onsite locations, particularly those newly opened in 2023 and 2022, and with large customers." It also said sales got a boost from currency tailwinds.

Thursday's gain put shares on track for their best day since March 2020.

— Fred Imbert

Stocks may be in early stage of a 2-year bubble unlikely to end before 2026, Capital Economics says

Boosted by higher corporate profits and economic productivity resulting from increased use of artificial intelligence, U.S. stocks may enter a two-year period of inflated returns unlikely to end before 2026, market watchers at London-based Capital Economics said Wednesday.

"Our analysis leads us to conclude that, provided the economy skirts a recession, there is scope for a bubble to inflate in the S&P 500 this year and next," chief markets economist John Higgins wrote in a report entitled, "Why we expect the S&P 500 to soar in 2024."

The researcher is counting on the U.S. not falling into a recession, and corporate profits continuing to expand. "We envisage the index becoming even more top heavy in the process, but do think that most sectors will fare well even if those that stand to benefit the most from the advent of AI keep leading the charge," Higgins said. "[J]ust because the rally has been top heavy doesn't mean it is bound to end imminently. Indeed, we think the rally is more likely to broaden out like it did in the second half of the 1990s, with information technology leading the pack again," the firm said.

— Scott Schnipper

There's more upside ahead for small-caps, Goldman Sachs says

Small-cap stocks ended 2023 with a bang, with the Russell 2000 rallying 24% from October into year-end.

But according to Goldman Sachs, there's still more upside ahead for the stocks.

"We argue that improving economic growth should drive the outperformance of Small caps, and that their low relative valuation is a tailwind, as our macro model suggests," wrote analyst Lilia Peytavin.

The analyst said that additional catalysts favoring small-cap stocks include a stronger euro, a better M&A and alpha opportunity environment and a healthier economic outlook.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Plug Power financing options narrow as liquidity situation deteriorates

Plug Power faces narrowing options to finance its operations as the company struggles with a deteriorating liquidity situation, according to BMO Capital Markets.

The hydrogen company's problems were underlined Wednesday when it announced a $1 billion at-the-market equity issuance program. BMO analyst Ameet Thakkar highlighted the size of the program compared to Plug Power's market cap of about $1.6 billion.

"PLUG's short-term liquidity situation appears to continue to deteriorate," Thakkar told clients in a research note. "Despite prior management comments highlighting PLUG's lack of existing debt financing and asset base it appears PLUG's financing options have narrowed in the near-term," he wrote.

Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Percoco told clients he was surprised the announcement came ahead of Plug Power's business update scheduled for next week, though the size of the share sale program is largely in line with expectations.

Plug Power had about one quarter's worth of liquidity on its balance sheet as of Sept. 30, according to Morgan Stanley. The company will need to use up to $500 million of the share sale program before the end of the first quarter to manage its cash-burn rate, according to the investment bank.

Plug Power's stock was down 83% over the past 12 months to close at $2.74 a share on Wednesday.

— Spencer Kimball

S&P 500 opens higher Thursday

The S&P 500 began Thursday's trading session in the green.

The broad market index gained 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%.

— Hakyung Kim

Stocks making the biggest moves before the bell: Discover Financial Services, Spirit Airlines and more

These are the stocks moving the most in premarket trading:

• Discover Financial Services — The financial services stock dropped more than 7% after posting mixed fourth-quarter results.
• Spirit Airlines — The budget airline fell 5% amid continued fallout from its blocked proposed merger with JetBlue earlier this week.
• Humana — The health insurance company lost more than 14% on Thursday after guiding for full-year 2023 adjusted earnings of $26.09 per share.

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Weekly jobless claims post surprise drop

Initial jobless claims fell sharply last week in a surprise move indicating ongoing tightness in the labor market.

First-time filings for unemployment insurance totaled 187,000 for the week ended Jan. 13, a decline of 16,000 from the previous period and below the Dow Jones estimate for 208,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Continuing claims, which run a week behind, decreased to 1.806 million, a decline of 26,000 and below the FactSet estimate for 1.83 million.

—Jeff Cox

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing pops 8% on strong earning

U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing jumped nearly 8% before the bell after topping fourth-quarter profit and revenue expectations.

Revenue came in at 625.53 billion New Taiwan dollars ($19.62 billion), topping an LSEG estimate NT$618.31 billion. The semiconductor company also posted net income of NT$238.71 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had expected net income to come in at NT$225.22 billion 

Revenue and net income declined 1.5% and 19.3%, respectively, from a year ago. However, the company said its expects a return to growth in 2024.

Shares of some of the company's notable customers traded higher post-earnings. Advanced Micro Devices rallied more than 3%, while Nvidia, Qualcomm and Apple added about 2% each.

— Samantha Subin

Apple shares rise after BofA upgrade

Apple shares were up more than 1% in the premarket after the tech giant received an upgrade from Bank of America. The bank also said it sees more than 20% upside going forward.

"We upgrade Apple to Buy from Neutral, given: 1) stronger multi-year iPhone upgrade cycle driven by need for the latest hardware to enable Generative AI features to be introduced in 2024/2025 (large part of installed base still on iPhone 11), 2) higher growth in Services as Apple better monetizes its installed base," BofA said.

— Fred Imbert

Watches of Switzerland shares plunge 30% after guidance cut

Watches of Switzerland shares plummeted 30% on Thursday at 08:46 a.m. London time, after the luxury watch retailer cut its guidance for the 2024 fiscal year.

The company now expects revenue of £1.53-1.55 billion ($1.94-1.97 billion), down from its previous guidance of £1.65-1.7 billion. Constant currency revenue growth — which excludes fluctuations in currency — was revised sharply downwards from 8-11% to 2-3%, while EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) margin is now projected at 8.7-8.9%.

"The festive period was particularly volatile this year for the luxury sector, with consumers allocating spend to other categories such as fashion, beauty, hospitality and travel. Whilst we are disappointed with this trend, we are encouraged by our market share gains in both the U.S. and U.K.," Watches of Switzerland CEO Brian Duffy said in a statement.

Read the full story here.

- Elliot Smith

Australia employment numbers unexpectedly drop, unemployment rate steady at 3.9%

Australia's employment numbers unexpectedly fell by 65,100 people in December, compared with an increase of 17,600 people estimated in a Reuters poll of economists.

The unemployment rate came in at 3.9%, unchanged from November and holding at its highest level in 19 months.

The country's labor participation rate also fell more than expected to 66.8%, down from estimates of 67.1% and below November's 67.2%.

David Taylor, head of labor statistics at Australia's bureau of statistics noted "both the unemployment and underemployment rates remained relatively low and the participation rate and employment-to-population ratio relatively high, suggesting that the labor market remains tight."

— Lim Hui Jie

Singapore’s transport minister quits; faces 27 charges including corruption

Singapore's transport minister S Iswaran resigned Thursday after he was formally informed of charges, including that of corruption, by the country's anti-graft agency after months of investigations.

Iswaran appeared in court and was handed 27 charges. There were 24 charges of obtaining gratification as a public servant, two charges of corruption and one charge of obstructing the course of justice. He pleaded not guilty.

Iswaran was the first cabinet minister in Singapore to be charged for corruption and the first to be investigated since 1986.

Read the full story here.

— Lim Hui Jie

December housing starts and building permits data on deck Thursday morning

Investors will parse through December housing starts and building permits data on Thursday to see whether activity in the sector has increased amid declining mortgage rates.

December housing starts, which measures the construction of new homes in the U.S., is expected to have dropped by a FactSet consensus estimate of 8.1% last month. That would be down from a rise of 14.8% the prior month. 

Building permits, or the number of new housing units authorized in the U.S., is anticipated to have risen to a rate of 1.476 million units last month, according to a FactSet consensus estimate. That's up from 1.467 million units previously.

— Sarah Min

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours

Check out the companies making headlines after hours.

• Discover Financial Services — Shares dropped nearly 7% after Discover Financial Services reported fourth-quarter results. The financial services company reported quarterly revenue of $4.20 billion that topped estimates of $4.10 billion, according to analysts polled by LSEG. GAAP earnings of $1.54 per share were not immediately comparable.
• Alcoa — Shares dropped nearly 3% after the aluminum producer reported fourth-quarter results. Alcoa posted a narrower-than-expected adjusted loss of 56 cents per share, compared to an expected loss of 86 cents per share, according to analysts polled by LSEG. Revenue of $2.60 billion came in line with estimates.
• H.B. Fuller — H.B. Fuller shares slid about 1%. For the fourth quarter, the company posted adjusted earnings of $1.32 per share, better than the FactSet consensus estimate of $1.27 per-share earnings. Revenue of $902.9 million came in lower than the expected $929.9 million.

Read the full list here.

— Sarah Min

Stock futures open little changed

Stock futures opened little changed Wednesday night.

Dow futures fell by 15 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.07% and 0.11%, respectively.

— Sarah Min