The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to a record Thursday, as Wall Street tried to resume its comeback from a steep sell-off earlier this month.

The 30-stock index rose 243.63 points, or 0.59%, for a fresh record close of 41,335.05. Gains in Goldman Sachs, Intel and Visa helped lift the blue-chip average to a new high. The S&P 500 ended the session just below the flatline at 5,591.96. The Nasdaq Composite slid 0.23% to end at 17,516.43.

Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia, which fell 6.4%, weighed on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. In its fiscal second quarter, the AI chipmaker exceeded expectations on the top and bottom lines, and it issued a rosy current-quarter sales outlook on Wednesday afternoon.

"Death, taxes, and NVDA beats on earnings are three things you can bank on. Here's the issue, the size of the beat this time was much smaller than we've been seeing. Even future guidance was raised, but again not by the tune from previous quarters," wrote Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group.

"This is a great company that is still growing revenue at 122%, but it appears the bar was just set a tad too high this earnings season," Detrick added.

Economic data released Thursday offered some support to the stock market. Weekly jobless claims fell from the prior week, further easing recession concerns. In addition, second-quarter gross domestic product was revised higher to 3% growth from an initial 2.8% rate.

Dow closes Thursday at new record high

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a new record high during its Thursday session.

The 30-stock index gained 243.63 points, or 0.59%, to finish at 41,335.05.

On the other hand, the S&P 500 was little changed and closed at 5,591.96. The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.23% to settle at 17,516.43.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Small to mid-cap stocks in sectors like industrials, financials still look attractive, according to Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler continues to favors small and medium-sized companies.

"A fairly quiet trading week is expected ahead of the Labor Day weekend; however, several key earnings reports could spark some volatility. Overall, the market has been broadening into SMID-caps, which is historically the case during the second half of election years," chief market technician Craig Johnson said in a Thursday note.

Johnson favors industrials, financials, technology and healthcare in the small to mid-cap space based on their improving relative strength. He noted that only financials and healthcare sectors bucked the broader market's decline on Wednesday, with both sectors also notching record highs.

— Pia Singh

First half of September could be strong while latter half is 'treacherous,' according to BTIG

Stocks have already begun to recoup their losses from Wednesday's session, with all three major averages trading higher on Thursday afternoon.

According to BTIG chief market technician Jonathan Krinsky, Wednesday's weakness might be the last the market sees in some time as investors try for new all-time highs.

"This likely sets up the typical strong first-half of September, while the back-half is typically more treacherous," he wrote in a Thursday note. "This would also fit with a potential 'sell the news' after the first expected rate cut on September 18th."

— Lisa Kailai Han

U.S. crude rises nearly 2% after Libya confirms major supply disruption

U.S. crude oil futures rose nearly 2% on Thursday, rebounding after a two-day losing streak as Libya confirmed major disruptions in its oil output.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for October settled at $75.91 per barrel, up $1.39, or 1.87%. The Brent October contract settled at $79.94 per barrel, up $1.29, or 1.64%.

Production in Libya has fallen by 1.5 million barrels over the past three days for a total loss of $120 million, according to the OPEC member's National Oil Corporation.

Rival governments in Libya are locked in a political dispute. The eastern government in Benghazi, which is not internationally recognized, has threatened to shut down all oil production and exports as the U.N.-backed western government in Tripoli seeks to replace the OPEC member's central bank head.

— Spencer Kimball

Beating earnings estimates not enough for a stock to rally, Interactive Brokers' Sosnick says

Companies need to do more than just beat earnings expectations for their stocks to rally, according to Interactive Brokers chief strategist Steve Sosnick.

"We've gotten into this environment where beating estimates is no longer a sufficient condition for a post-earnings rally. It's a necessary condition," said Sosnick. "When you have 75% or 80% of companies beating their estimates on any given quarter, that tells you it's not such a special thing anymore."

An example of this is Nvidia, Sosnick noted. The stock fell more than 6% on Thursday despite the chipmaker reporting fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations.

"It's not a knock on them. ... They continue beating and raising estimates," he added. "But I think that the magnitude of the surprises is shrinking at a time when people have raised the bar."

— Fred Imbert

Thursday's stock market gains 'incredibly positive' for broadening thesis, investor says

The stock market's Thursday gains paint an optimistic picture for the market's rotation out of mega-cap names, according to Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at Horizon Investments.

"This is actually incredibly positive and bullish to have a market day where Nvidia, which is the bellwether for AI, to be down and the broad market, especially technology and semiconductors, to be strongly up on the day. It just speaks to the broadening that we're starting to see in this rally," he told CNBC in an interview.

— Lisa Kailai Han

What Dollar General's woes saying about low income consumers

Analysts who cover Dollar General say the company has to resolve some execution issues, but the company's weak performance also speaks to some broader economic trends that are worth noting.

Specifically, CEO Todd Vasos said the three softest weeks of same-store sales in the second quarter all had something in common: They occured at the end of each of the calendar months.

"This pattern suggest that our customers are less able to stretch their budgets through the end of the month," Vasos said during a conference call.

Dollar General's core consumer has a household income of less than $35,000 and they are feeling squeezed. In a recent survey the retailer conducted, about 30% said they have maxed out at least one of their credit cards, and 25% say they expect to miss a payment over the next six months.

Dollar General shares are down nearly 30%, on pace for its worst session ever.

— Christina Cheddar Berk

JPMorgan adds Abercrombie & Fitch to its 'Analyst Focus List,' says shares can jump 40% by end of 2025

JPMorgan added Abercrombie & Fitch to its 'Analyst Focus List' as a growth idea, citing the clothing retailer's strong earnings and same-store-sales growth during the second quarter and potential for that momentum to continue into the next one.

Analyst Matthew Boss maintained his overweight rating and December 2025 price target of $194, which suggests the company's shares can jump 40.3%. The stock is up 59.6% this year even after its steep post-earnings pullback on Wednesday.

"Following marketing & merchandising improvements over the last few years, the Abercrombie brand has successfully expanded its customer reach... with strong new customer acquisition globally supporting broad- based topline results, in addition to greater full price selling," Boss said in a Wednesday note. "We also see brand momentum building internationally, noting ~$400M revenue recapture opportunity remaining relative to pre-pandemic."

Boss added that Abercrombie's Hollister brand inflection is only in the "middle innings" with opportunities for its Mens and Tops businesses to gain further upside. He also expects the company to see annual modest EBIT margin expansion in the long run supported by occupancy expense savings.

— Pia Singh

Dollar General heads for worst day ever

Dollar General plummeted nearly 30% during afternoon trading, putting shares of the discount retailer on pace for their worst session ever.

The declines came after the company cut its full-year sales and profit guidance as lower-income customers come under pressure. Dollar General also fell short of Wall Street's earnings and revenue estimates for the fiscal second quarter.

Shares have shed 36% since the start of the year.

— Samantha Subin

Defense and aerospace ETF outperforms as Boeing rebounds

The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) was up about 1.8% in afternoon trading, outperforming the major averages and on track for a record close.

One of the top performers among ITA's major holdings was Boeing, which rose more than 2%. Boeing has fallen in the three previous trading sessions this week.

TransDigm Group was another standout in the ITA on Thursday, rising nearly 3% and hitting its own record high.

— Jesse Pound

Stocks making the biggest moves midday

Here are the stocks on the move midday:

Dollar General – The discount retailer's shares tumbled nearly 30% after the company slashed its sales and profit guidance for the full year. Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos said the softer sales trends are partially attributable to a core customer who feels "financially constrained." The retailer also reported disappointing results for the fiscal second quarter. Shares of competitor Dollar Tree fell more than 9% in sympathy.

Affirm – Shares surged 34% on the buy now, pay later company's stronger-than-expected revenue outlook for the fiscal first quarter. Affirm expects revenue for the period to come in between $640 million and $670 million, above the $625 million expected from analysts surveyed by LSEG.

Best Buy – Shares jumped 15%. Best Buy raised its earnings outlook for the fiscal year. The company now expects an adjusted earnings range of $6.10 to $6.35 per share. That's higher than the prior range of between $5.75 and $6.20 per share. Results for the fiscal second-quarter were also better than expected.

Read the full list here.

— Sean Conlon

Birkenstock on pace for worst day on record after earnings miss

Shares of Birkenstock plunged more than 16% after the company missed earnings estimates, putting it on pace for its worst day on record.

If the stock closes around this level, this would mark the biggest percentage drop since the German sandal maker went public on the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 11, 2023, when shares fell more than 12%.

— Sean Conlon

Berkshire Hathaway trades above $700,000

Berkshire Hathaway's Class A shares gained 0,6% Thursday to trade above the $700,000 threshold, marking another milestone for Warren Buffett's conglomerate.

Just on Wednesday, Berkshire reached a $1 trillion market capitalization, the first nontechnology company in the U.S. to score the coveted milestone. The string of good news takes place during the birthday week of the Oracle of Omaha as he turns 94 on Friday.

Shares of the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate have rallied more than 29% in 2024, far above the S&P 500′s 18% gain. A technical glitch at the New York Stock Exchange in early June caused the stock to surge abnormally, trading above &700,000 for a brief period.

— Yun Li

Consumer staples and real estate are the only two negative S&P 500 sectors on Thursday

During Thursday's session, consumer staples and real estate were the only two sectors trading lower in the S&P 500. The sectors respectively pulled back by 0.5% and 0.7%.

On the other hand, the industrials, communications services and consumer discretionary sectors led the index higher, with all three categories gaining above 1% by noon.

— Lisa Kailai Han

4 stocks in the S&P 500 reach new 52-week lows

During Thursday's trading session, just four stocks in the S&P 500 reached new 52-week lows. These included Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Franklin Resources.

On the other hand, 43 stocks in the broader market index were trading at their 52-week highs. Tickers that hit this milestone included:

• Best Buy
• Texas Instruments
• Motorola Solutions
• Universal Health
• Edison International
• JPMorgan
• Coca-Cola
• Progressive
• Northrop Grumman
• Nasdaq

— Lisa Kailai Han, Gina Francolla

Intel, Apple and Microsoft lead Dow higher

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was last trading around 228 points, or 0.6%, higher on Thursday to claw back some of its Wednesday losses.

Shares of Intel, Apple and Microsoft led the 30-stock index higher, with the technology names respectively climbing 3.7%, 2.6% and 2.3%.

On the other hand, Salesforce stock was a laggard after rising earlier in the day on the back of an earnings beat. Verizon Communications and Home Depot also each climbed by 0.8% and 0.5%, respectively.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Don't rush into a recession portfolio, Ned Davis Research says

History shows that investors who are worried about the U.S. economy falling into a recession don't need to rush into a defensive position, according to Ned Davis Research.

Ed Clissold, the firm's chief U.S. strategist, said in a note to clients that the risk of an imminent recession is low and that investors can stay the course for now.

"While it is always good to do ones' homework and have a plan for the next recession, our conclusion is that it is too soon to turn defensive on equities," the note said.

The S&P 500 typically peaks about 6 months before a recession starts, according to NDR. The index hit its most recent record high in mid-July.

And even if that July high water mark does prove to be the peak for this cycle, there's a decent chance that any losses over the next few months are modest, according to Clissold.

"Absent a bubble or secular bear market, the declines during the six months before recession
start dates have tended to be less than 6%," the note said, while the worst of the pre-recession damage happened in the two months before the recession start date.

—Jesse Pound

Investors should buy into the 'building blocks of growth,' Wells Fargo says

With a potential economic recovery on the horizon in early 2025, Wells Fargo's Investment Institute believes that investors should begin broadening their portfolio exposures.

"We want to be ready to broaden equity-sector exposure in large caps as well as potentially increase allocations to other equity asset classes, including small-caps but also in large-cap sectors that we believes should benefit from the economic cycle's upturn, including financials," strategist Scott Wren wrote.

Wren also recommended investors consider buying into what he called the "building blocks of growth," which includes stocks in the industrials, materials and energy sectors.

"The rapid growth in generative artificial intelligence is driving investment in electrical-grid upgrades and data-center buildouts that are needed to expand this new technology and greatly enhance productivity in a broad swath of industries outside of the traditional information technology sector," he added.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Stocks open higher

Stocks opened higher to start Thursday's session, seemingly shaking off some of the initial downward momentum from Nvidia's latest quarterly earnings.

Shares of Salesforce boosted the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher by 291 points, or 0.7%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite respectively added 0.3% each.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Affirm shares pop on 'killer quarter,' analyst sees stock more than doubling from here

Affirm's CEO called it a "killer quarter," and investors seem to agree, with shares popping nearly 25% before the market's open. The company, which provides buy now, pay later services, expects to hit a major milestone by the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025: reporting an operating profit on a GAAP basis. What's more, it said it plans to make this a sustainable trend.

Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev expects the stock could more than double from Wednesday's closing price, as he has a $65 price target. Dolev said interest rate cuts aren't baked into the company's forecast, which means there could be upside to Affirm's estimates. Additionally, Affirm's Apple partnership could provide a further boost to the business.

"We view the premium [in Affirm's stock price] as warranted given AFRM's position as the market leader, not just in [buy now, pay later space] but payments as well, and it continues to improve on adjusted profitability prospects," Dolev wrote in a research note.

— Christina Cheddar Berk

Stocks making the biggest moves premarket

Check out some of the companies making headlines in premarket trading.

• Salesforce — Shares jumped 5% on the back of second-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analyst expectations. The customer relationship management software maker also raised its full-year outlook and announced CFO Amy Weaver will step down from her post.
• Salesforce — Shares jumped 5% on the back of second-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analyst expectations. The customer relationship management software maker also raised its full-year outlook and announced CFO Amy Weaver will step down from her post.
• CrowdStrike — The cloud security company fell about 2% after its third-quarter outlook missed analyst expectations. CrowdStrike sees earnings in the current quarter of 80-81 cents per share, while analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated 96 cents. CrowdStrike also cut its full-year guidance to a range of $3.61 to $3.65 per share, compared to a previous $3.93 to $4.03 and a consensus estimate of $3.90 from analysts.

Read the full list here.

— Brian Evans

Jobless claims slightly higher than expected

Initial filings for unemployment insurance moved slightly lower for the week ended Aug. 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

First-time claims totaled 231,000 for the period, down 2,000 from the previous week and slightly above the 230,000 Dow Jones estimate.

Continuing claims, which run a week behind, totaled 1.868 million, an increase of 13,000 but slightly below the 1.87 million FactSet estimate.

— Jeff Cox

Economy grew at 3% pace in Q2, faster than previously thought

Economic growth was stronger than initially estimated in the second quarter due largely to an upward revision in consumer spending, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Real gross domestic product increased at an annualized 3% pace for the April-through-June period, up from the previous estimate of 2.8%, according to the department's Bureau of Economic Analysis in its second of three GDP readings.

Consumer spending accelerated at a 2.9% pace for the period, even as the savings rate was revised lower to 3.3%, or 0.2 percentage point lower than the initial estimate.

On the inflation front, most numbers were revised lower. The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, was cut to 2.5%. Core excluding food and energy saw a downward revision to 2.8%. Both were lowered by 0.1 percentage point. However, the chain-weighted price index rose 2.5%, higher than the previous 2.3% estimate.

— Jeff Cox

Large-cap internet stocks would most benefit from a mixed congress, says Bank of America

Ahead of the November U.S. presidential election, Bank of America found that a mixed Congress would provide the most positive outcome for large-cap internet stocks.

On the other hand, a Democratic sweep would most likely increase potential regulatory pressure and legislation, especially for Alphabet, Meta and Amazon.

A Republican sweep could increase the odds of higher tariffs, less taxes, greater chances of a TikTok ban and less anti-trust enforcement. This would be "a mixed bag, which could be considered most beneficial for Gig economy (high growth, less employment regulation)," Bank of America wrote.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Now's the time for investors to examine their AI exposure, UBS says

Post-Nvidia earnings, UBS believes that future gains for the global technology sector will likely be more gradual versus the "quick rebound" markets have seen in August.

That's because market volatility could rise on the back of uncertain economic data and news of semiconductor export controls. To that end, the bank advised investors to keep this market volatility in mind as they shifted their positioning.

"We recommend investors examine their AI exposure as they navigate tech volatility. Investors with low existing AI holdings should create a plan to build up long-term exposure to the theme," UBS wrote.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Nvidia results strong despite stock pullback, Vital Knowledge says

Don't dismiss Nvidia's results based on the stock decline, said Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge.

"The Nvidia results/guidance are triggering some knee-jerk 'not good enough' selling pressure in that name specifically, but the results were quite strong on an absolute basis," he said.

Nvidia shares were down as much as 8% in after-hours trading before recovering most of that decline. They were last down about 2%.

— Fred Imbert

Europe markets rise as trading begins

European markets were higher as trading began on Thursday as investors looked to economic data from across the region and assessed the tech sector after Wednesday's Nvidia earnings release.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.33% higher at 8:24 a.m. London time, with major regional bourses and sectors mostly trading in the green. Oil and gas and insurance stocks pulled back slightly, while tech rose 0.85%.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Powersports stocks historically rally after the first rate cut, according to Bank of America

Powersports stocks such as Harley-Davidson and Polaris have a track record of rallying after the first interest rate cut in the cutting cycle, Bank of America said in a note from Wednesday.

"Over the past 7 rate cut cycles, HOG stock has increased 31% on average 12 months after the first cut, while PII has increased 40%, both significantly greater than 12% for the S&P 500," the bank said.

The market has already priced in a rate cut at the FOMC's upcoming September meeting. The CME FedWatch Tool suggests a 63.5% probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut, while the probability of a 50-basis-point cut is around 36.5%.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours

Check out the companies making headlines in extended trading.

• Nvidia — The artificial intelligence chipmaker dropped 5% even after Nvidia beat expectations in its fiscal second-quarter results. Adjusted earnings per share of 68 cents exceeded the LSEG consensus estimate of 64 cents per share. Revenue of $30.04 billion exceeded the anticipated $28.7 billion. In the current quarter, Nvidia expects about $32.5 billion in revenue, more than the $31.77 billion expected by analysts, according to StreetAccount.
• Salesforce — The software stock advanced 3.5% after Salesforce reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter results and raised its full-year profit outlook. Separately, the company said president and CFO Amy Weaver will step down.
• CrowdStrike — Shares popped 3.9% after the cybersecurity company exceeded fiscal second-quarter expectations on the top and bottom lines. CrowdStrike posted adjusted earnings of $1.04 per share, more than the LSEG consensus estimate of 97 cents earnings per share. Revenue of $963.9 million came in above the expected $959 million.

Read the full list here.

— Sarah Min

Nasdaq 100 futures open lower Wednesday night

Nasdaq 100 futures opened lower Wednesday night.

Nasdaq 100 futures slid about 1%, while S&P 500 futures fell 0.5%. Meanwhile, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 76 points, or 0.2%.

— Sarah Min