Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., November 16, 2023.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
The S&P 500 advanced on Thursday as Wall Street attempted to recover its footing amid a losing streak for the benchmark index. Investors also continued parsing the latest corporate earnings reports.
The broad index added 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 302 points, or 0.8%, boosted by a rally of more than 4% in UnitedHealth.
The S&P 500 has slid more than 1% so far in the week, while the Dow sat near its flatline for the same period.
The Nasdaq has tumbled almost 3% this week as technology shares struggled. That puts the index on pace for its fourth straight down week, which would mark the longest negative streak since December 2022.
Credit bureau Equifax declined more than 9% in Thursday’s session on disappointing second-quarter guidance. Homebuilder D.R. Horton advanced more than 4% after quarter financials topped expectations.
More than 12% of S&P 500-listed companies have now reported earnings in what’s shaping up to be a positive season. Of those that have already posted results, 73% have surpassed Wall Street expectations for their individual performances, according to FactSet.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq flirted with their fifth straight down session, briefly trading lower on the day. That would mark the longest losing streaks for each since October and January, respectively.
The moves come during what has been a difficult second quarter on Wall Street. That’s been driven by growing concerns around the path of inflation and monetary policy from the Federal Reserve.
All three major indexes are lower so far in April, in stark contrast to the stronger-than-expected market performance seen in the first quarter.
“This has been one of the most widely advertised pullbacks that we’ve had,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial. Now, “what we’re paying attention to … is whether or not we are going to see lower lows.”