US stocks inched up on Thursday in anticipation of Amazon (AMZN) quarterly results, as investors assessed the earnings season so far and eyed President Donald Trump’s fast-moving policy overhaul.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) moved up 0.2% and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) also nudged up around 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.1% on the heels of two winning days in a row for the major gauges.
The tariff jitters that shook stocks earlier in the week may have eased, but markets are eyeing incoming earnings for any company warnings. At the same time, tech and chip-related results are being scrutinized for signals about the strength of AI demand.
Investors are keenly awaiting Amazon’s quarterly report due after the bell, following Alphabet’s (GOOG, GOOGL) cloud sales flop. The report will further test the view that Big Tech plans to keep spending big in AI after disappointing results late Wednesday from chip makers Arm (ARM) and Qualcomm (QCOM).
Adding to gloom, Ford (F) shares slid despite a quarterly earnings beat after it put out muted full-year guidance, pointing to tariffs as a headwind. Its CEO warned of that billions of dollars in auto industry profits could be wiped out if 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada are sustained.
Shares Peloton (PTON) soared after the fitness equipment maker posted better than expected sales, thanks in part to its seasonal partnership with Costco (COST). Meanwhile oil and gas producer ConocoPhillips (COP) beat quarterly profit estimates on higher production.
Investors are parsing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s comment on Wednesday that Trump wants to focus on lower Treasury yields as a way to ease borrowing costs, rather than calling for the Federal Reserve to lower rates. The benchmark 10-year yield (^TNX) traded around its lowest levels since December, at about 4.43%.
But Trump is still posing a quandary for the Fed, in that his tariffs could dial up inflation — though policymakers are taking a “wait and see” approach before moving on policy. Jobless claims jumped to 219,000 last week, coming in above estimates of 213,000. Investors were eyeing the data point for clues on Fed decision making amid the risk of an uptick in inflation.
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