It was a day of two markets on Thursday. Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) blew past expectations with a forecast for a roughly 70% revenue surge next fiscal year, sending the chipmaker up 9% and eyeing its best day since April 2025. Meanwhile, cybersecurity stocks went vertical on optimism about agentic AI demand. But beneath the surface, something unusual was happening: technology was the only S&P 500 sector in the green by midday, with the other 10 all lower.
Here's the scorecard:
- The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 7,734.44, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4% to 53,663.52, advancing 200 points.
- The Nasdaq 100 rallied almost 1% to about 29,500 points.
- Bond yields stabilized ahead of Kevin Warsh's highly anticipated speech at Jackson Hole on Friday.
- The 10-year Treasury yield held at 4.66%, while the 30-year yield was at 5.18%.
Thursday's Data Hands Hawks Ammunition
The economic data didn't help the case for rate cuts. Initial jobless claims fell 4,000 to 203,000 against forecasts for 208,000, wholesale inventories jumped 1.3% versus the 0.2% consensus, and the Kansas City Fed manufacturing production index held at 17, its highest since April 2022. That's a trifecta of stronger-than-expected numbers, giving the hawks plenty of talking points.
Crude firmed modestly. West Texas Intermediate rose 0.6% to $82.73 a barrel, while Brent added 1.2% to $88.85, both still nursing weekly losses of roughly 5% on signs of diplomatic progress in the Middle East.
Gold edged up 0.3% to $4,606.62 an ounce, with the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) tracking the move. Silver was the stronger metal, rising 1.8% to $69.35 an ounce. Bitcoin (BTC) rallied 2.7% above $80,000.
Thursday's Performance In Major US Indices
According to market data:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) gained 0.7%.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) rose 0.4%.
- The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) climbed 0.9%.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) advanced 0.4%.
Cybersecurity Melts Up While The Other Ten Sectors Bleed
The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) surged 2.9% and was the only one of the 11 S&P 500 sector funds to advance. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) was the worst performer, down 1.0%.
Losses elsewhere were tightly clustered. The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLC) fell 0.8%, the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU) slid 0.7% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) dropped 0.6% despite firmer crude. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) was the most resilient decliner at 0.4%.
Industry-level dispersion was extreme. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) rocketed 6.9%, easily the standout, while the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) added 2.9% and the Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) rose 1.9%.
The Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG) was up 9.7%.
Thursday's Stock Movers
Okta Inc. (OKTA) was the best performer in the Russell 1000, soaring 28.0% to $172.10 after fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.05 per share beat the $0.97 consensus on revenue of $805 million versus $795 million expected. The identity provider raised full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $3.90-$3.94 against a $3.84 Street estimate and said AI-focused products such as Okta for AI Agents accounted for roughly 30% of new bookings.
Salesforce Inc. (CRM) jumped 21.0% to $248.77 after posting second-quarter adjusted EPS of $5.90 on revenue of $11.35 billion, up 10.8% year-on-year, and lifting its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook by $300 million in constant currency to $46.1 billion-$46.4 billion. Results included a $2.6 billion gain on its stake in Anthropic, alongside the launch of Claudeforce.
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (CRWD) rallied 17.6% to $222.38 on record net new annual recurring revenue of $333 million, up 51% year-on-year, and adjusted EPS of $0.31 that extended its beat streak to nine quarters. Management raised fiscal 2027 net new ARR growth guidance by 630 basis points to 34% at the midpoint.
Veeva Systems Inc. (VEEV) climbed 17.1% to $286.87 after reporting quarterly EPS of $2.35 against a $2.22 consensus on revenue of $928 million, up 17.6%, and raising fiscal 2027 EPS guidance to $9.21 and revenue guidance to $3.682 billion-$3.687 billion.
Figma Inc. (FIG) rounded out the top five, up 14.3% to $30.88.
Cybersecurity Complex Went Vertical Behind CrowdStrike, Okta
Palo Alto Networks Inc. (PANW) rose 12.1% ahead of its Sept. 1 results, Zscaler Inc. (ZS) gained 10.5%, SentinelOne Inc. (S) added 9.8%, Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) rose 7.2%, and SailPoint Inc. (SAIL) advanced 13.8% despite not reporting until Sept. 9.
The pain was concentrated in staples, retail and hardware. Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) was the worst name in the index, tumbling 9.2% to $21.52 after third-quarter adjusted EPS of 37 cents arrived alongside a cut to full-year sales guidance to $12.1 billion-$12.2 billion and a slashed diluted EPS range of $1.06-$1.12 from $1.28-$1.37, with management citing weak retail demand and soft private-label snack nut volumes.
Everpure Inc. (P) sank 8.4% to $99.72 despite 38% revenue growth and a sharply raised full-year outlook, as investors focused on negative second-quarter free cash flow and a gross margin running at the low end of the company's target range, while it prioritizes share gains over near-term profitability.
Burlington Stores Inc. (BURL) fell 6.4% to $293.96 as second-quarter sales landed below analyst estimates even with total sales up 11% and comparable store sales up 2%. The bleed spread across the off-price and discount complex, with Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR) down 4.0% and Five Below Inc. (FIVE) off 3.6%.
Moderna Inc. (MRNA) dropped 5.7% to $141.20 after announcing a $2.0 billion private placement of convertible senior notes due 2032.
Celsius Holdings Inc. (CELH) slid 5.0% to $33.48 after Deutsche Bank downgraded the energy drink maker to Hold from Buy.
Thursday's Russell 1000 Top Gainers
Thursday's Russell 1000 Top Losers
