Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq waver as Wall Street cements in rate-cut hopes

^DJI ^IXIC ^GSPC

• 

  Stocks inch higher astatine the open

  US stocks nudged higher astatine the marketplace unfastened connected Thursday arsenic labour marketplace information helped further cement bets for a December complaint cut.

  The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) added astir 0.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) hovered supra the level line.

  The moves travel connected the heels of humble gains for stocks connected Wednesday.

  DJI - Free Realtime Quote • USD

  47,844.51

  -38.39

  (-0.08%)

  As of 9:50:07 AM EST. Market Open.

  ^DJI ^IXIC ^GSPC

• Meta banal jumps connected reports that Zuckerberg plans to slash metaverse budget

  Meta (META) banal jumped by implicit 5% aft the opening doorbell connected Thursday aft Bloomberg reported that CEO Mark Zuckerberg is readying to chopped up to 30% of its fund for metaverse efforts.

  The projected fund cuts, being discussed arsenic portion of the company's yearly fund planning, would apt see layoffs and impact its virtual world game, Meta Horizon Worlds, and its Quest VR headset, according to radical acquainted with the matter.

  Zuckerberg pivoted the societal media institution to absorption connected the metaverse successful 2021 arsenic the institution faced disapproval implicit its contented moderation and privateness practices, adjacent renaming the institution to bespeak its stake connected the technology.

  But galore connected Wall Street weren't keen connected the determination — oregon the billions of dollars Meta diverted toward the effort.

  Still, Meta has shown it's inactive making a propulsion to go a hardware company, diversifying beyond its apps. On Wednesday, reports surfaced that Meta poached Apple's caput of idiosyncratic interface design, Alan Dye, signaling its absorption connected AI-enabled user devices.

• Kroger banal slides arsenic market contention mounts, maturation slows

  Kroger (KR) banal fell astir 3% successful premarket trading aft the nutrient retailer reported small gross maturation twelvemonth implicit year.

  The Cincinnati-based market concatenation posted adjusted net per stock of $1.05, somewhat beating Wall Street analysts' expectations of $1.03 net per share, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

  However, 3rd 4th gross of $33.9 cardinal was astir unchanged from the aforesaid play a twelvemonth ago, $33.6 billion, and missed expert estimates of $34.1 billion. Same-store sales, excluding fuel, grew 2.6% twelvemonth implicit year.

  NYSE - Nasdaq Real Time Price • USD

  As of 9:50:03 AM EST. Market Open.

  Kroger expects same-store income ex-fuel to turn 2.8%-3.0%, narrower than its erstwhile scope of 2.7%-3.4%. The institution besides raised the little extremity of its EPS guidance to $4.75-$4.80 from $4.70-$4.80 previously.

  In a Nov. 25 note, JPMorgan analysts noted that the user and competitory situation has grown notably tougher for nutrient retailers.

  "Sentiment toward nutrient retailers seems to person soured a spot implicit the past fewer months, including for [Kroger]," the analysts wrote. "When inflationary concerns were much persistent successful the nutrient abstraction and the user situation was stronger, the nutrient retail abstraction was amended liked."

  The analysts noted a fewer factors putting unit connected Kroger shares, successful particular, successful caller months: Amazon's (AMZN) propulsion into grocery, Walmart (WMT) taking stock successful market and ramping up terms competition, concerns astir nutrient ostentation reigniting, and Nielsen information showing slower income growth.

  Read much unrecorded sum of firm net here.

• Bitcoin heads into 2026 with renewed acceptance — and volatility

  Yahoo Finance's Hamza Shaban writes:

  Read much here successful the takeaway from today's Morning Brief.

• Good morning. Here's what's happening today.

  Economic data: Challenger occupation cuts (November); Initial jobless claims (week ended Nov. 29); Continuing claims (week ended Nov. 22)

  Earnings: Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD), Bank of Montreal (BMO), Kroger (KR), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Ulta Beauty (ULTA), Dollar General (DG), Samsara (IOT), The Cooper Companies (COO), DocuSign (DOCU), Brown-Forman Corporation (BF-A, BF-B), Rubrik (RBRK)

  Here are immoderate of the biggest stories you whitethorn person missed overnight and aboriginal this morning:

  Companies marque 71,000 layoffs successful worst November since 2022

  'K-shaped' system has Wall Street connected edge. Why it whitethorn beryllium OK.

  Bitcoin heads into 2026 with renewed acceptance — and volatility

  Trump meets Nvidia's CEO to speech AI spot curbs: Source

  Market doubts Hassett tin present astatine Fed: Top money manager

  Silver retreats from grounds precocious arsenic traders fastener successful profits

  Goldman: Copper's 'breakout' supra $11,000 won't last

  Alphabet's AI chips are a imaginable $900B 'secret sauce'

  Meta deed by EU antitrust probe into AI usage successful WhatsApp

  Wall Street shifts AI communicative from 'bubble' to 'air pocket'

  Mark Cuban urges Trump to chopped fees holding backmost US generics

• Companies announced much than 71,000 layoffs past period successful worst November since 2022: Challenger

• Not a 'bubble,' but possibly an 'air pocket': Wall Street says it's clip to reset the AI narrative

  Yahoo Finance's Allie Canal reports:

  Read much here.

• 

  Premarket trending tickers: UiPath, Hormel Foods and Paypal

  UiPath (PATH) banal roseate 9% during premarket hours connected Thursday aft the bundle institution reported a quarterly nett successful its 3rd 4th earnings.

  Hormel Foods (HRL) banal roseate 6% earlier the doorbell connected Thursday aft reporting higher income successful its 4th quarter. The institution swung to a nonaccomplishment arsenic profits remained nether unit amid ongoing inflation.

  PayPal (PYPL) banal fell much than 1% successful premarket trading aft the institution said it expects maturation successful its cardinal branded checkout work to dilatory successful the 4th quarter.

• Salesforce banal climbs aft net beat, boost to yearly gross forecast

  Salesforce (CRM) banal took a limb higher successful premarket connected the company's 3rd 4th net bushed and improved outlook.

  The bundle elephantine reported 3rd 4th diluted net per stock of $3.25, beating estimates of $2.58 per share, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

  Revenue of $10.27 cardinal roseate 8.6% twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth and was astir successful enactment with estimates.

  NYSE - Nasdaq Real Time Price • USD

  As of 9:50:02 AM EST. Market Open.

  Reuters reports:

  Read much here.

• Five Below banal pops aft net bushed arsenic shoppers flock to low-cost retailers

  Five Below (FIVE) shares roseate aboriginal connected Thursday arsenic it became the latest worth retailer to payment from consumers' displacement toward much value-oriented purchases, arsenic high-income shoppers thrust postulation astatine dollar stores and different bargain outlets.

  "We've seen truly bully postulation maturation and maturation successful some caller customers arsenic good arsenic retention," Five Below CEO Winnie Park said connected the company's net call. "What's truly worked successful presumption of maturation is an enlargement of the thought of what worth looks like. We inactive curate a large assortment — astir 80% of the assortment is $5 and beneath — but we took a batch of attraction to those items supra $5 and specifically packing a ton of worth astatine $7, $10, $15."

  Net income accrued 23.1% twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth to $1 cardinal successful the 3rd quarter, surpassing estimates of $983 million, per S&P Global Market Intelligence. Same-store income roseate by 12.4% twelvemonth implicit year.

  Earnings per stock reached $0.66, beating estimates for $0.26 per share, sending the banal 4% higher successful after-hours trading.

  Five Below besides raised its full-year income outlook to a scope of $4.62 cardinal to $4.65 billion. The institution besides raised its forecast for diluted income per stock to a scope of $5.51 to $5.69 from $4.56 to $4.96 previously.

  For the 4th quarter, nett income are expected to beryllium successful the scope of $1.58 cardinal to $1.61 billion.

• Bond investors warned US Treasury implicit picking Kevin Hassett arsenic Fed chair

  The Financial Times reports:

  Bond investors person told the US Treasury they are acrophobic astir Kevin Hassett’s imaginable assignment arsenic Federal Reserve chair, worrying helium volition chopped involvement rates aggressively to delight President Donald Trump.

  The Treasury section solicited feedback connected Hassett and different candidates successful one-on-one conversations with executives astatine large Wall Street banks, plus absorption giants and different large players successful the US indebtedness market, according to respective radical acquainted with the conversations.

  ... The doubts among marketplace participants astir Hassett bespeak a broader anxiousness connected Wall Street astir the modulation astatine the Fed’s helm arsenic Trump prepares to nominate a caller person of the cardinal bank. Some elder enslaved marketplace participants would person preferred different candidates specified arsenic BlackRock’s Rick Rieder and Fed politician Christopher Waller who were seen arsenic much autarkic from Trump than Hassett.

  Several of the marketplace participants the Treasury contacted said they were disquieted astir Hassett’s alignment with Trump, who has insisted rates should beryllium chopped sharply and has called Powell a “stubborn mule” for the cardinal bank’s determination to lone modestly little borrowing costs this year.

  Read much present (premium)

• Snowflake deepens concern with Anthropic, shares autumn aft guidance disappoints

  Snowflake (SNOW) banal tumbled aft the AI information unreality supplier reported a narrower-than-expected nonaccomplishment but issued guidance that fell abbreviated of the Street's estimates. The institution besides announced it expanded its concern with Anthropic (ANTH.PVT).

  Snowflake shares fell 8% successful pre-market trading connected Thursday.

  NYSE - Nasdaq Real Time Price • USD

  As of 9:50:03 AM EST. Market Open.

  The Montana-based institution reported connected Wednesday that gross grew 29% twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth to $1.15 cardinal during the quarter, somewhat missing Wall Street's estimates of $1.18 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Snowflake reported a nett nonaccomplishment per stock of $0.87, a smaller nonaccomplishment than the $0.96 per stock analysts were expecting.

  For the 4th quarter, Snowflake guided for merchandise gross betwixt $1.19 cardinal and $1.2 billion, which was somewhat beneath the midpoint gross forecast by the Street of $1.23 billion. The full-year gross guidance of $4.44 cardinal besides fell beneath expectations of $4.6 billion.

  Snowflake besides announced a multiyear, $200 cardinal statement with Anthropic that volition marque Anthropic’s Claude AI models disposable connected the Snowflake level and found a associated task to deploy AI agents crossed the world's largest enterprises.

  The woody deepens Snowflake's narration with Anthropic, arsenic the institution has already processed trillions of Claude tokens connected its platform.

  "Enterprises person spent years gathering secure, trusted information environments, and present they privation AI that tin enactment wrong those environments without compromise," Anthropic CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei said successful a statement. "This concern brings Claude straight into Snowflake, wherever that information already lives. It's a meaningful measurement toward making frontier AI genuinely utile for businesses."

• Asian markets mixed with gains led by Japan arsenic enslaved yields rise

  Reuters reports:

  Read much here.

• Oil maintains gains arsenic Venezuela and Ukraine travel into focus

  Bloomberg reports:

  Oil held a summation arsenic investors weighed the outlook for a ceasefire successful Ukraine and the fallout from tensions betwixt the US and Venezuela.

  Brent (BZ=F) traded beneath $63 a tube aft climbing 0.4% connected Wednesday, portion West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) was adjacent $59. US President Donald Trump said a gathering betwixt his envoy and President Vladimir Putin was “reasonably good” but acknowledged the result for a bid woody was uncertain.

  Separately, Trump reiterated the US volition commencement striking cause cartels connected onshore successful Venezuela precise soon. American forces person been massing successful the region, with the concern adding immoderate hazard premium to lipid prices, partially offsetting concerns astir a surplus that’s expected to swell to a grounds adjacent year.

  Read much here.