US powers agree on raising debt ceiling in midnight hours; avoiding catastrophe
- By : James Bryson
- Category : US News of note
US News of note
Stocks ticked higher on Thursday after the House passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling late Wednesday evening.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.76%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) popped 0.52%, or 172 points and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was 0.93% higher.
Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI)
DJI – Free Realtime Quote (USD)
33,089.06
+180.79(+0.55%)
As of 1:48PM EDT.Market open.
A looming U.S. debt default, which Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned could come as soon as Monday, had begun to weigh on markets over the last week. But with the House passing the bill in a resounding 314-117 vote, investors will now await action in the Senate.
“The deadline to raise the debt ceiling is rapidly approaching, and the likelihood of triggering a negative market reaction with severe economic consequences will only increase as we approach the precipice,” Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten said in a statement after the House vote.
“We call on the Senate to eliminate the threat of a default by passing this bipartisan bill as soon as possible,” he added.
The artificial intelligence hype train that has been driving a rally in the Nasdaq since Nvidia’s (NVDA) blowout earnings report last week hit a speed bump after the close on Wednesday. C3.ai (AI) tumbled 10% on Thursday after the company reported weaker-than-expected full-year revenue guidance. The AI software developer expects revenue in a range of $295-$320 million. Wall Street had hoped for $321 million, per S&P Global Market Intelligence.
C3.ai, Inc. (AI)
NYSE – Nasdaq Real Time Price (USD)
34.61
-5.40(-13.51%)
As of 1:49PM EDT.Market open.
Shares of Salesforce (CRM) and CrowdStrike (CRWD) also stumbled. Salesforce fell nearly 5% as investors harped on capital expenditure growth of 36% in the quarter. CrowdStrike stock pared losses as its full-year profit forecast came in on the low end of analyst expectations.
Meanwhile retail earnings continued to provide a mixed picture on consumer spending. After the bell on Wednesday, Nordstrom (JWN) topped analyst expectations propelling shares up less than 2% during Thursday’s trading session. But on Thursday morning, Macy’s (M) cast a different tone. The retailer’s stock fell 1% after lowering its full-year sales and earnings-per-share guidance.
“We planned the year assuming that the economic health of the consumer would be challenged, but starting in late March, demand trends weakened further in our discretionary categories,”Macy’s chairman and CEO Jeff Gennette said in the company’s earnings release.
On the economic front, 235,000 jobless claims were filed in the week ending May 27. Economists had expected 235,000 claims.
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