Stocks Pause, Chipmakers Rise, Gold Hits 2-Month Highs: What's Driving Markets Thursday?

Wall Street paused for a breather on Thursday, following Wednesday's big rally sparked by a softer-than-predicted December inflation report that fueled speculation on the Federal Reserve delivering interest rate cuts during the year.

By midday, stocks were little changed as attention shifted to the next major event: Donald Trump's inauguration as 47th U.S. president on Monday.

On the data front, December retail sales rose 0.4% from the previous month, a slower pace than November's 0.8% increase and below expectations of 0.6%. Jobless claims climbed by 16,000 to 217,000, slightly higher than the projected 210,000.

See Also: Cathie Wood Says Inflation Worries Dampen Expectations, Schiff Singles Out Wall Street For Swallowing Narrative Even As Prices Soar

The weaker data sent Treasury yields lower, with the 10-year yield slipping four basis points to 4.61%, extending the previous day's 14-basis-point decline.

Falling yields helped gold climb 0.9% to $2,970 per ounce, reaching a two-month high as investors moved toward safe-haven assets.

Semiconductor stocks stood out the best-performing industry, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX gaining 1.8%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. TSM jumped more than 5% after delivering strong quarterly earnings, lifting the broader chip industry. Applied Materials Inc. AMAT and ASML Holding N.V. ASML advanced 7% and 6%, respectively.

Oil prices pulled back 2.6%, giving up part of Wednesday's 4% gain. Traders speculated that Trump's policies could ease sanctions on Russian energy exports as part of a broader effort to negotiate peace in Ukraine.

Bitcoin BTC/USD edged down 1% to $99,000, following a slight pullback across cryptocurrency markets.

Thursday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	1-day %chg
S&P 500	5,958.43	0.1%
Dow Jones	43,255.53	0.1%
Russell 2000	2,264.04	0.0%
Nasdaq 100	21,239.38	0.0%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY remained unchanged at $593.10.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA flattened at $432.18.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ was unchanged at $516.54.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM inched 0.1% to $224.31.
• The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund XLU outperformed, up 2.1%; the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund XLV lagged, down 0.5%.

Thursday’s Stock Movers

• Bank of America Corp. BAC fell 2% following quarterly earnings. Peer Morgan Stanley MS rose 2.7%.
• Other stocks reacting to earnings were UnitedHealth Group Inc. UNH, down 4.7%, Infosys Ltd. INFY, down 5.2%, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. PNC, down 2%, U.S. Bancorp USB, down 5.3%, M&T Bank Corporation MTB, down 2.8%, First Horizon Corp. FHN.
• Tesla Inc. TSLA fell by 3.6% after the EV giant announced reduced selling prices on its Cybertruck, in a strategy to revive demand.
• Apple Inc. AAPL dropped 3% after the European Commission's competition chief confirmed that the investigation into the company under the Digital Markets Act will move forward as scheduled, with enforcement anticipated by March 2024.

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