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Dow Leaps 700 Points on Hot Jobs Report, Nasdaq Notches Sixth Straight Winning Week: Live Updates

CNBC
Traders work the floor at the NYSE in New York.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Traders work the floor at the NYSE in New York.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged Friday for its best day since January as traders cheered a strong jobs report and the passage of a debt ceiling bill that averts a U.S. default.

The 30-stock Dow jumped 701.19 points, or 2.12%, to end at 33,762.76. The S&P 500 climbed 1.45% to close at 4,282.37. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.07% to 13,240.77, reaching its highest level since April 2022 during the session.

With Friday's gains, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished the holiday-shortened trading week about 1.8% and 2% higher, respectively. The Dow's Friday advance pushed it into positive territory for the week, finishing up 2%. The Nasdaq notched its sixth straight week higher, a streak length not seen for the technology-heavy index since 2020.

Nonfarm payrolls grew much more than expected in May, rising 339,000. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a relatively modest 190,000 increase. It marked the 29th straight month of positive job growth.

Recently, strong employment data had been pressuring stocks on the notion it would keep the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. But Friday's data also showed average hourly earnings rose less than economists expected year over year, while the unemployment rate was higher than anticipated.

Both data points have given investors hope that the Fed could pause its interest rate hike campaign at the policy meeting later this month, according to Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

"The so-called Goldilocks has entered the house," Sandven said. "Clearly, on the bullish side, there are signs that inflation is starting to wane, speculation that the Fed is going to move into pause mode, increasing the likelihood of a soft landing."

Easing concerns around the U.S. debt ceiling also helped sentiment. The Senate passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling late Thursday night, sending the bill to President Joe Biden's desk. That comes after the House passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act on Wednesday, just days before the June 5 deadline set by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Lululemon shares popped more than 11% on strong results and a guidance boost{

Lululemon pops on earnings, guidance lift

Lululemon shares surged more than 13% after the bell on strong earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations and a boosted full-year outlook.

The athletics apparel retailer posted earnings of $2.28 a share on $2 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had anticipated EPS of $1.98 on revenue of $1.93 billion.

Revenue grew 24% over the year-ago period. Lululemon lifted its full-year revenue guidance as it benefitted in part from improving freight costs and growth in China.

The company said it now expects full-year revenue in the range of $9.44 billion and $9.51 billion. That's up from the previous range of $9.31 billion and $9.41 billion and above Wall Street's $9.37 billion forecast, according to Refinitiv. Profit expectations also exceeded consensus estimates.

— Samantha Subin

MongoDB blowout forecast

Lea la cobertura del mercado de hoy en español aquí.

Volatility index closed Friday at lowest since Feb. 2020 — before lockdown

The CBOE Volatility Index — also known as Wall Street's "fear gauge" as it approximates expectations for how much the S&P 500 will rise and fall in coming weeks — closed Friday at 14.60, its lowest since Feb. 19, 2020, shortly before the Covid pandemic closed the economy.

— Scott Schnipper, Christopher Hayes

About time: Small-cap stocks post biggest one-day gain since November

The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks jumped 3.56% on Friday, the best one-day rally since Nov. 10, 2022, and rising above its 200-day moving average for the first time since March 8, just before Silicon Valley Bank blew up.

The smallcap  iShares Russell 2000 ETF outperformed both the largecap iShares Russell 1000 ETF and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust by the widest margin since Nov. 1, 2021.

Year to date, the Russell has now gained 3.96%, far behind the S&P 500's advance of 11.5%.

But maybe the winds are shifting. In the week just ended, the Russell rose 3.3% while the S&P 500 added 1.8%.

— Scott Schnipper, Gina Francolla, Nick Wells

Stocks close day and week higher

Stocks finished Friday up, closing out a winning holiday-shortened trading week.

The Dow finished up about 2.1% higher and 2% up on the week. The S&P 500 added roughly 1.5% in Friday's session, ending the week up 1.8%.

The Nasdaq Composite rose around 1.1% Friday. With a 2% weekly gain, the Nasdaq notched its sixth straight week of wins. That's the longest weekly win streak for the technology-heavy index since 2020.

— Alex Harring

Cruise stocks among this week's top performers

Amid another winning week for the market, three cruise stocks made the list of top outperformers.

Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean gained 9.3% and 7.8% week to date, respectively, making them fifth- and seventh-highest earners in the S&P 500 this week as of Friday morning. Carnival rose 6.7% this week.

Check out some of this week's other big gainers here.

— Hakyung Kim

Friday jobs data is a 'gift' to Fed, Homrich Berg principal says

Investors were focusing mainly on the wage data, according to Ross Bramwell, principal at Homrich Berg, because it could prompt the Fed to pause its interest rate hiking campaign at the policy meeting scheduled for later this month.

"Markets are kind of cheering that, 'Hey, we've been able to get to, hopefully, a pause level, and we're not in a recession,'" Bramwell said. "This really just kind of gives credence to those who are wanting to believe in the soft-landing scenario. This is kind of a gift that kind of fell in the Fed's lap."

— Alex Harring

This advertising stock is 'best-in-class,' Morgan Stanley says

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of The Trade Desk and added the firm to its "best-in-class" list.

"As the leading independent demand-side platform (DSP), TTD is well positioned to benefit from both trends, as advertisers 1) shift dollars from traditional linear TV to streaming, and 2) leverage retailers' customer data to run more effective/measurable ad campaigns," said analyst Matthew Cost.

The stock has added 63% from the start of 2023 thanks to a rebound in ad sales.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Brian Evans

BofA says 'Magnificent Seven' has generated most of this year's gains

Bank of America has identified a "Magnificent Seven" group of stocks that have powered most of the gains this year for the S&P 500.

The group has accounted for almost 90% of the large-cap index's 10% gain in 2023 and includes familiar names such as Nvidia and Microsoft.

Michael Hartnett, the firm's chief investment strategist, said a good contrarian strategy for June would be to bet against the group after it has seen such outsized gains. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

—Jeff Cox

Stocks remain on track for major gains entering final trading hour

The three main industries were still on pace to post large gains in Friday's session as the final trading hour of the trading day and holiday-shortened week kicked off.

The Dow was up more than 700 points, or 2.13%. It's on pace to see its best day since November, 30, 2022, when the Dow finished up 2.18%. Friday's rally pulled the blue-chip average into positive territory on the week, last up 2.08%.

Elsewhere, the S&P 500 advanced 1.55% on Friday. It's up 1.92% week to date.

And the Nasdaq Composite added a relatively modest 1.09% on Friday, but was neck and neck with the Dow on weekly gains at 2.06%. The technology-heavy index is on pace to post its sixth straight week of wins, a streak length not seen for the Nasdaq since 2020.

— Alex Harring

Fitch says it is not removing credit watch for U.S. despite deal

The U.S. is not out of the fiscal doghouse with Fitch, as the ratings firm said government debt is still on a watch for a possible downgrade despite the debt ceiling deal.

"Reaching an agreement despite heated political partisanship while reducing fiscal deficits modestly over the next two years are positive considerations," Fitch said in a release. "However, Fitch believes that repeated political standoffs around the debt-limit and last-minute suspensions before the x-date (when the Treasury's cash position and extraordinary measures are exhausted) lowers confidence in governance on fiscal and debt matters."

The firm cited a "steady deterioration in governance over the last 15 years" as reasons for its pessimistic outlook and said it will "resolve" the credit watch status in the third quarter of 2023.

Moody's on Thursday said it is not considering the U.S. for a downgrade.

—Jeff Cox

Verizon and Salesforce sit out of Dow rally

Salesforce and Verizon were the only two Dow members trading down on Friday, restricting gains on the closely followed index's rally.

Verizon was among a group of telecommunication stocks trading lower after Bloomberg reported that Amazon was considering launching a mobile service for Prime members. Shares were 3.6% lower Friday afternoon.

Salesforce slipped 0.7%, continuing to struggle after investors grew nervous about commentary from company management when reporting earnings Wednesday. The statements, which centered on concerns around potential pressure as customers pull back from big consulting deals, pulled attention from a better-than-expected quarterly report and guidance raise. Shares have slipped 1.8% week to date.

But those slides were diluted by gains from the other 28 members. 3M and Caterpillar led the blue-chip index up with gains of around 8.5% and 7.8%, respectively. The Dow as a whole was up more than 700 points at session highs.

— Alex Harring

Bank of America reiterates buy rating on Broadcom, says artificial intelligence portfolio is undervalued

Broadcom will continue to benefit from investor excitement over artificial intelligence, according to Bank of America.

The firm reiterated a buy rating on the chipmaker on Thursday, albeit with a renewed price target. BofA thinks an undervalued AI segment could add to upside thanks to the company's exposure to the sector.

"In a bull case scenario where AVGO can grow AI exposure to ~25% of sales (and hold growth rates of non-AI assets at previously mentioned levels), we see incremental $2bn/$3 upside to our sales/EPS estimates," Analyst Vivek Arya said.

Broadcom stock rose more than 2% on Friday and has added more than 41% from the start of the year.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Brian Evans

S&P 500 now flat since rate hikes started

Friday's gain put the S&P 500 around breakeven going back to March 2022, when the Federal Reserve embarked on its current interest rate hiking cycle.

Bespoke Investment Group first pointed this out.

It has been a tumultuous time for investors, as those rate increases pushed the broader market index into a bear market. However, Wall Street may be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.

— Fred Imbert

Indexes trade near session highs as rally keeps strength heading into afternoon

The major indexes were trading near session highs with just under 3 hours left in the trading day as investors kept the Friday advance going.

The Dow rose 640 points, near its high of 666 points up.

Similarly, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were less than one-tenth of a percentage point off session highs. The S&P 500 was last up 1.42%, just shy of its highest point in the session of 1.5%. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.06%, slightly off its highest session gain of 1.16%.

— Alex Harring

All 11 S&P 500 sectors trade up in broad rally

Every sector of the S&P 500 was trading higher on Friday, powering a broad rally for the index.

Materials led the sector up with a 3.3% advance, followed by industrials and energy, which both gained more than 2.5%.

Communication services and information technology were the worst performers of the week but were still both 0.5% higher. By comparison, the broad index as a whole was up 1.4%.

Consumer staples was the only sector not on pace to notably finish above the weekly flatline as it was up less than 0.1% week to date. Dollar General has pulled the sector down with a nearly 20% week-to-date loss, followed by Dollar Tree at 6% down and Target at 5.2% lower.

Utilities, which has performed the second worse this week, is on pace to finish 1% higher. Meanwhile, consumer discretionary, the best week-to-date sector, is slated for a 3.5% gain.

— Alex Harring

Lululemon, SentinelOne among stocks making the biggest midday

These are some of the stocks making the most significant moves during midday trading:

Lululemon — The athleisure apparel company rallied 12% on strong fiscal first-quarter earnings results. The company posted a top and bottom line beat and a 24% year-over-year increase in sales. Lululemon also raised its guidance for the full year.

SentinelOne — The cybersecurity stock sank more than 36% after SentinelOne's revenue fell short of expectations. SentinelOne posted revenue of $133.4 million, below a FactSet forecast of $136.6 million.

MongoDB — Shares of the data developer rocketed 27% after the company forecast strong fiscal first-quarter earnings and boosted its full-year guidance.

Read the full list here.

— Samantha Subin

Cloud stocks surge

Some cloud stocks got a lift on Friday following a strong quarterly report from companies like MongoDB and Zscaler.

Shares of Datadog and Snowflake each rose more than 5.3%, while Atlassian gained about 4%. The Global X Cloud Computing ETF added 1.9% and the First Trust Cloud Computing ETF edged 2.2% higher.

Some cloud names moved lower during Friday's session. Salesforce lost 1%, while PagerDuty shed 17% on weak guidance.

— Samantha Subin

Here’s where the jobs are for May

The U.S. payrolls report for May blew past expectations, supported by strong jobs gains in the professional and business services sector — as well as a jump in government employment.

Professional and business services led job creation for the month with 64,000 new hires, following an increase of similar size in April. Government added 56,000 jobs last month, higher than the average monthly gain of 42,000 over the prior 12 months.

Job gains were broad-based last month with health care contributing 52,000 and leisure and hospitality adding 48,000.

— Yun Li

Caterpillar shares jump almost 6%

Shares of construction equipment maker Caterpillar are up 5.8% Friday, putting it on pace for its best day since Mar. 1.

Caterpillar shares are having biggest positive impact on the Dow Friday, followed by Goldman Sachs and Home Depot, which are up 2.4% and 1.8%, respectively.

— Hakyung Kim, Gina Francolla

JPMorgan downgrades energy utility stock over regulation concerns

JPMorgan downgraded Xcel Energy stock on Friday over lower electricity costs in Minnesota from state regulators.

 "We expect this outcome and heightened market attention on the CO electric rate case to weigh on XEL for now mirroring reactions over the past nine months to varying levels of surprise in the rate case arena," analyst Jeremy Tonet said.

Xcel stock was down 1.3% on Friday. Shares have dropped more than 11% this year.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Brian Evans

Stocks extend gains

The three major indexes continued rallying in late morning trading.

The Dow jumped more than 500 points, trading up around 1.7%. The S&P 500 added 1.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1%.

— Alex Harring

Fear gauge VIX hits lowest level since 2021

The Cboe Volatility Index, known as the VIX, hit a low of 14.82 Friday, reaching its lowest level since Nov. 4 2021 on an intraday basis. Any close below 15 would be the VIX's first close below that threshold since February 2020.

The VIX, which tracks the 30-day implied volatility of the S&P 500, has dipped 3 points in June after gaining over 13 points in May. The index looks at prices of options on the S&P 500 to track the level of fear on Wall Street.

— Yun Li

Labor force participation among prime age women hits highest level since 1948

A metric showing how many workers are employed or in search of work, rose to highest level on record dating back to 1948 in May among women between the ages of 25 and 54.

The measurement, known as the labor force participation rate, increased to 77.6% last month, data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed.

Overall labor force participation among prime age workers between 25 and 54 rose to 83.4% in May. That's the highest level since April 2002, when the prime participation rate was 83.6%.

— Gina Francolla, Samantha Subin

Amazon says it doesn't plan to add wireless 'at this time'

In response to the Bloomberg News report about Amazon exploring adding wireless service to its Prime members, Amazon spokesperson Bradley Mattinger released the following statement: "We are always exploring adding even more benefits for Prime members, but don't have plans to add wireless at this time."

Shares of wireless providers are still trading lower, with T-Mobile down about 7%. Shares of Amazon are up more than 2%.

— Jesse Pound

Nasdaq Composite trades at highest level since April 2022

The Nasdaq Composite reached its highest level since April 2022 amid Friday's rally.

The technology-heavy index has rallied in recent months amid excitement around artificial intelligence.

— Alex Harring

Friday rally puts Dow up on the week

A rally in the Dow on Friday morning pushed the index into positive territory on the week.

The Dow climbed about 0.7% week to date with Friday's advance accounted for. The index was down about 0.1% on the week after Thursday's close.

— Alex Harring

Stocks open higher

The three major indexes were trading higher as Friday's session kicked off.

The Dow added more than 200 points, up about 0.7%. The S&P 500 rose 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1%.

— Alex Harring

Market observers try to predict how Fed will act at June meeting following jobs data

The Fed will have a difficult job when deciding how, or if, to move interest rates at the policy meeting later this month, market observers said following the May jobs report.

"This surge in job growth, combined with the recent passage of the debt ceiling/budget bill by the Senate, sets the stage for an intriguing course of action for the Federal Reserve in June," said Jon Maier, chief investment officer at Global X.

Maier said the higher-than-expected payroll data could make some think more monetary tightening is ahead, but he said the "marginal" increase in the unemployment rate could also be enough to prompt a pause on interest rate hikes at the next meeting.

"It really is 50/50 at this point on a June move," Maier said. "These developments present a multifaceted economic scenario for the Federal Reserve to decipher during their upcoming meeting."

To be sure, not everyone was uncertain. Jan Szilagyi, founder of financial technology platform Toggle AI, said a "June pause is now impossible" unless upcoming inflation data comes in far lower than economists anticipate.

— Alex Harring

AT&T, T-Mobile fall after report that Amazon is exploring wireless service

Shares of wireless phone service providers were under pressure in premarket trading after Bloomberg News reported that Amazon is exploring offering wireless service to its Prime members.

Shares of T-Mobile fell more than 7% in premarket trading, while AT&T and Verizon each sank about 6%.

The tech giant is talking to telecom companies to find the lowest possible wholesale price, and then would offer the plans to its customers for a low additional price or possibly for free, according to the report.

— Jesse Pound

U.S. jobs report for May comes in much better than expected

The U.S. economy added many more jobs than anticipated, in another sign that the U.S. economy is resilient. The Labor Department said 339,000 jobs were added last month. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected 190,000 were created in May.

— Fred Imbert

Cathie Wood bought $6 million worth of CrowdStrike shares Thursday

Ark Invest's Cathie Wood bought the dip in CrowdStrike on Thursday as shares of the cybersecurity stock dipped on slowing revenue growth.

Wood's ARK Next Generation Internet ETF added 17,255 shares of CrowdStrike, and she also scooped up 23,410 for ARK Next Generation Internet ETF, according to Ark's daily trading data. These purchases were worth more than $6.4 million based on Zoom's Tuesday close of $157.55.

The stock fell 1.6% on Thursday but the stock is still up nearly 50% this year.

— Yun Li

See the stocks making the biggest moves before the bell

These are some of the stocks making the biggest premarket moves:

  • MongoDB — The data developer platform stock surged 27% after the company issued a strong forecast for the second quarter, seeing between $388 million and $392 million in revenue. Analysts forecasted $362 million, per Refinitiv. MongoDB also beat earnings and revenue forecasts for the most recent quarter.
  • SentinelOne  — Shares fell more than 35% in premarket trading after cybersecurity company missed revenue expectations for the first quarter and cut its full-year revenue guidance. The company reported first-quarter revenue of $133.4 million, below the consensus estimate of $136.6 million from FactSet. It sees just $141 million in revenue for the second quarter, well below the $152.1 million consensus estimate from FactSet. The company said in a shareholder letter that macroeconomic pressure was slowing sales growth.
  • Lululemon — The athleisure company's shares jumped more than 14% after it reported a top and bottom line beat in its fiscal first quarter. The company's sales grew 24% from the previous year. Lululemon also raised its full-year outlook.

See the full list here.

— Tanaya Macheel

Nasdaq and S&P 500 head toward weekly wins while Dow lags

With just Friday's trading session left, the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 are on pace to finish the week higher. Both closed Thursday's session at their highest levels since August 2022.

The Nasdaq Composite is poised for a 1% gain on the week. If it holds, it will be the sixth straight winning week for the Nasdaq — a streak length not seen for the tech-heavy index's weekly performance since 2020.

The S&P 500 is on track for a more modest 0.4% gain. Meanwhile, the Dow is slated to end the week 0.1% lower, weighed down by 4.7% and 3.9% week-to-date losses in Goldman Sachs and Nike, respectively.

The holiday-shortened trading week began Tuesday following Memorial Day on Monday.

— Alex Harring

Jobs report will give indication whether market rally can continue, JPMorgan traders say

Keep an eye on the upcoming jobs report as it will determine if the recent market rally can continue, said traders at JPMorgan.

"While June [Fed] pause has been largely priced in, further softening in labor market and slower wage inflation could give the Fed more comfort to keep rate in July," they said. "The market is currently 50-50 on a July pause vs. a hike and the next two CPI and payroll data before the Jul 26 meeting would be critical for the Fed to gauge their plan beyond June."

— Fred Imbert, Michael Bloom

Europe stocks open higher

European stock markets were upbeat early Friday, with the benchmark Stoxx 600 index up 0.4% at 8:30 a.m. London time.

Most sectors saw gains, with mining stocks up 1.7% and oil and gas 1% higher as healthcare dropped 0.4%.

France's CAC 40 rose 0.74% while Germany's DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 were up 0.64% and 0.5%, respectively.

— Jenni Reid

Senate passes bill to raise debt ceiling, preventing default

The Senate passed a bill Thursday night to raise the debt ceiling, sending it to President Joe Biden's desk.

He is expected to sign the legislation Friday, preventing what would have been the first-ever U.S. sovereign debt default.

The House-approved compromise bill passed the Senate by a 63-36 margin, garnering sufficient bipartisan support to overcome the chamber's 60-vote threshold to avoid a filibuster.

U.S. stock futures were slightly higher ahead of the vote and held at those levels after the bill was passed. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up about 30 points.

— Christine Wang, Christina Wilkie

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index pops 3% as consumer and tech stocks jump

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index popped 3% led by gains in technology and consumer stocks, according to data from Refinitiv as of 10:30 a.m. Hong Kong time.

The index's top movers included automotive company Zhongsheng Group surging 8.70%. Sportswear company Li-Ning added 6.72%.

Technology heavyweights Baidu and JD.Com also drove gains, surging 5.59% and 4.26% respectively. Meituan rose 4.52%. Tencent rose 4.5% and Alibaba climbed 4.98%.

–Lee Ying Shan

Oil prices edge slightly higher ahead of OPEC+ meeting

Oil prices traded slightly above the flatline as traders look toward an OPEC+ meeting this weekend.

Global benchmark Brent inched 0.2% lower at $74.44 a barrel Friday, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures was 0.24% down to $70.27 per barrel.

"If [OPEC] don't do anything, we could really see prices sell off, we've seen them selling off this week," said Kpler's lead oil analyst Matt Smith.

The oil cartel is not likely to deepen output cuts in the upcoming meeting, Reuters reported citing sources from the alliance.

Smith forecasts that Brent prices could slip to $70 per barrel should OPEC maintain the status quo.

"Oil prices fell sharply in May, with the WTI benchmark dropping below USD70/b," HSBC wrote in a report dated June 1. The bank noted that the decline came despite the previously announced OPEC+ production cuts coming into effect during the month.

Aside from the uncertainty that had been swirling around the U.S. debt ceiling standoff, China's subdued growth indicators also weighed on prices, the report noted.

—Lee Ying Shan

SentinelOne craters on guidance cut

SentinelOne shares plummeted more than 35% in extended trading after the cybersecurity provider cut its revenue guidance and reported mixed quarterly results.

The company reported a smaller-than-expected loss per share for the first quarter, but posted revenue that came in slightly below Wall Street's projections, according to FactSet.

SentinelOne slashed its full-year outlook, saying that it now expects revenue to range between $590 million and $600 million, versus its prior guidance of $631 million to $640 million. Analysts polled by FactSet had projected revenue of $637.1 million for the year.

— Samantha Subin

MongoDB, Five Below among stocks making the biggest moves

These are some of the stocks making the most significant moves after the bell:

MongoDB — Shares of MongoDB jumped 23%. The data developer platform posted blowout guidance. MongoDB anticipates revenue in the second quarter will range between $388 million and $392 million, compared to analysts' forecasts of $362 million, per Refinitiv. MongoDB beat on top and bottom lines in its latest quarterly report.

Five Below — Shares of the discount store chain jumped 5% in extended trading. Five Below posted earnings of 67 cents per share, while analysts polled by Refinitiv estimated earnings of 63 cents a share. However, Five Below posted revenue of $726 million, compared with Wall Street's forecast of $728 million. Second-quarter guidance was also short of analysts' expectations.

PagerDuty — Shares of the digital operations management company slumped more than 14% after the bell. PagerDuty reported adjusted earnings per share that beat Wall Street's estimates, but issued weaker-than-expected revenue guidance.

Read the full list of company's moving after the bell here.

— Samantha Subin

Individual investors dialed back bond allocations in May, but stepped up their equity exposure

In May, investors pruned some of their exposure to fixed income, according to data from the American Association of Individual Investors.

Allocations toward bonds and bond funds decreased by 0.9 percentage points to 14.8% last month. It marked a decline from the 26-month high set in April 2023, the association found.

Meanwhile, investors added to their equity holdings. Exposure to stocks and stock funds inched up by 0.9 percentage points to 65.2%. They also built their cash cushion, raising allocations to cash by 0.1 percentage points to 20%.

Darla Mercado

Lululemon pops on earnings, guidance lift

Lululemon shares surged more than 13% after the bell on strong earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations and a boosted full-year outlook.

The athletics apparel retailer posted earnings of $2.28 a share on $2 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had anticipated EPS of $1.98 on revenue of $1.93 billion.

Revenue grew 24% over the year-ago period. Lululemon lifted its full-year revenue guidance as it benefitted in part from improving freight costs and growth in China.

The company said it now expects full-year revenue in the range of $9.44 billion and $9.51 billion. That's up from the previous range of $9.31 billion and $9.41 billion and above Wall Street's $9.37 billion forecast, according to Refinitiv. Profit expectations also exceeded consensus estimates.

— Samantha Subin

Stock futures open slightly higher on Thursday evening

Stock futures inched higher on Thursday evening.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 38 points, or 0.11%, while S&P 500 futures added 0.09%. Nasdaq-100 futures rose 0.14%.

— Samantha Subin

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