Stocks rose higher Thursday as the broader market celebrated the biggest tech IPO of the year and weighed the latest batch of economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied over 300 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite added about 0.8% each.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
In the spotlight, Arm
"The successful IPO of Arm certainly helps confidence," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Financial, quoted by CNBC.
Arm's first-day performance, "sort of instills some confidence that perhaps the capital markets window is going to open gain after virtually being closed for the last 18 months," Hogan added.
Also driving market moves, August's producer price index (PPI) rose by a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.7% month-to-month and 1.6% annually, the Labor Department reported Thursday. On a core-basis, which excludes food and energy costs, PPI increased by 0.2% and 2.1%, respectively -- marking the lowest annual level since January 2021.
Separately, U.S. retail sales increased by a higher-than-expected 0.6% in August over July, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Excluding auto sales, retail sales rose 0.6%, also topping Wall Street estimates.
Elsewhere, the United Auto Workers is "likely" to strike against Detroit automakers -- Ford
"If the companies continue to bargain in bad faith ... then our strikes are going to continue to grow," Fain said. "It's a battle of the working class against the rich; the haves versus the have-nots; the billionaire class against everybody else."
Delta Air Lines
BMO Capital Markets analyst Ameet Thakkar upgraded First Solar
"FSLR stock has declined by an unwarranted degree following its recent Analyst Day in our view. As highlighted in our Analyst Day recap note earlier this week, we believe consensus 2024-26 estimates are too low, but remain focused on 2027+ earnings power where FSLR is not fully sold out," Thakkar said in a Thursday note.
For Friday, market participants will turn their attention to fresh consumer data for August as Wall Street heads towards a week of gains.