Stock Market Today: Stocks rebound with jobs and GDP in focus; Micron jumps

Stocks are looking to claw back some of last night's late-hour decline, with investors focused on weekly jobless claims data and a final look at Q3 GDP.

Dec 21, 2023 - 19:30

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Stock Market Today: Stocks rebound with jobs and GDP in focus; Micron jumps

Check bank for updates throughout the trading day

U.S. equity futures bounced back Thursday as investors looked to retrace last night's late-session pullback, which ended a two-week winning streak on Wall Street.

Boeing reportedly set to resume 787 and 737 deliveries to China.

Updated at 8:51 AM EST

Renewed bond rally

Treasuries are extending their recent gains, with benchmark 10-year note yields falling another 4 basis points to 3.836%, the lowest since July 24, and 2-year notes slipping 5 basis points to 4.324%.

Updated at 8:37 AM EST

Strong like bull

The U.S. economy ended the third quarter with a 4.9% growth rate, the Commerce Department confirmed, a notable revision from its prior estimate of 5.2% but still the strongest in early two years and a rate that still carries solid momentum into the final months of the year.

New jobless claims, meanwhile, were up only modestly, rising by 2,000 to 205,000 over the week ending December 16, a level that lowers the closely-watched four-week average to around 212,000.

Stocks were holding on to earlier gains following the data releases, with the S&P 500 called 31 points higher and the Dow set for a 206 point advance. The Nasdaq is called 152 points higher.

Updated at 7:52 AM EST

Boeing extends gains

Boeing (BA) - Get Free Report, which is up more the 20% over the past month, is flying higher again Thursday following reports that suggest the planemaker is close to resuming 787 and 737 Max deliveries to China

Stock Market Today

Stocks tumbled over the final two hours of trading, lead to the downside by a 1.5% decline for the Nasdaq, even as Treasury bond yields extended their recent rally and underlying economic data showed stronger-than-expected existing-home sales and a firm move higher in consumer confidence.

Trading volumes were thin, however, and some analysts put the decline down to both late-year profit-taking and a surge in so-called OTDE options, which expire within 24 hours.

Micron's (MU) - Get Free Report narrower-than-expected fiscal-first-quarter loss, which was posted after the close of trading, and the chipmaker's solid near-term outlook provided an overnight boost for U.S. equity futures, while limiting losses in Asia.

The ongoing rally in Treasuries is also likely to give markets a further lift ahead of weekly jobless claims and third-quarter GDP data at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

Benchmark 10-year yields were last marked 3 basis points (0.03 percentage point) lower at 4.884% while 2-year notes were 1 basis point lower at 4.375%.

In other markets, oil prices slipped lower following Energy Department data showing record U.S. production of 13.3 million barrels a day. Alongside a 2.9 million increase in stockpiles at the key delivery hub in Cushing, Okla., the report added to concern about a pullback in global demand.

Brent crude contracts for February delivery were last marked 24 cents lower at $79.46 a barrel while WTI contracts for the same month, the new U.S. benchmark, fell 20 cents to $74.02 per barrel.

On Wall Street futures contracts tied to the S&P 500, which is now up 4.4% for the month, are indicating a 22 point opening-bell gain. Those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average are suggesting a 158-point advance.

The Nasdaq, which is getting help from a 6% premarket gain from Micron, is called 106 points higher.

In Europe, the regionwide Stoxx 600 was marked 0.5% lower in early Frankfurt trading while Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.49% in London.

Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 1.59% lower from its latest 33-year high to end at 33,140.47 points, while the regionwide MSCI ex-Japan index slipped 0.18% into the close of trading.