S&P 500 closes lower for a third day as rising bond yields pressure stocks: Live updates – CNBC

Natural Gas rose 3.2% Thursday, putting the commodity on pace for its first positive day in four days. Prices hit a high of 2.586, the highest level since Aug. 1, when natural gas traded as high as 2.675.

To be sure, Natural gas is still down more than 2.5% week to date, on track for its second straight week of losses and its fourth negative week out of five.

The First Trust Natural Gas ETF is up 2.7% on pace for the best day since July 18, when it gained 3.02%.

The ETF’s leaders Thursday include Silverbow, Northern Oil & Gas, APA Corp., Antero and SM Energy, which are all up 5% or greater for the day.

Higher Treasury note yields resulting from large volumes of Treasury issuance and the Fitch downgrade of the U.S. credit rating Tuesday aren’t enough to spark “a sustained drawdown” in stocks, Wolfe Research said early Thursday.

“[A] more definitive downside catalyst will be needed,” Wolfe strategist Chris Senyek wrote, suggesting “potential near-term landmines include a major Tech bellwether disappointing, oil prices spiking upward, and/or Fed Chair Powell sounding much more hawkish than expected at Jackson Hole” during the Kansas City Fed confab later in August.

Looking farther out, Wolfe is still bearish, expecting “core inflation to be sticky, the Fed to hike further, and a recession to hit in the quarters ahead.”

— Scott Schnipper, Michael Bloom

PayPal shares shed about 11% on Thursday even after reporting in-line quarterly results and guidance.

The moves came as the company reported a decline in active accounts, which fell to 431 million from 4333 million in the first quarter.

Analysts also expressed concerns related to the company’s take rate, or the money made per transaction, and margin issues. Margins came in weaker-than-expected for the period at 21.4% and showed a decline from the first quarter.

For the period, adjusted earnings came in at the expected $1.16 per share. Revenues came in at $7.3 billion versus the $7.27 billion expected by Wall Street.

— Samantha Subin

The internet phenomenon sending moviegoers to theaters in droves to catch “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” could be behind the most recent rise in spending, Bank of America.

“‘Barbenheimer’ likely drove the continued surge in y/y entertainment spending growth,” Bank of America’s Shruti Mishra wrote Thursday.

The Wall Street firm reviewed credit and debit card data in the week ending July 29, and found total card spending rose 0.5% year-over-year. Consumer spending on airlines and transit increased. Meanwhile, spending on furniture and online electronics continued to weaken.

— Sarah Min

The major averages are lower this week during what is a historically weak period for markets, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac.

The first nine trading days of August are usually lackluster periods for stocks, particularly as traders go away on vacation. Since 1987, August has been the worst month for the Dow and the second-worst month for the S&P 500, the almanac said.

On this day, Aug. 3, the S&P 500 has a 47.6% of rising, historically speaking. That’s based on a probability calendar using data from January 2001 to December 2021.

— Sarah Min

Announced job cuts fell 42% in July from June, the first monthly decrease of the year, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday.

Planned layoffs totaled 23,697 for the period, a level that also is 8% lower for the same month a year ago.

However, layoffs are still higher and hiring lower for the full year. Cuts are up 203% from the first seven months of 2022 while hiring is off 83%.

— Jeff Cox

Shares of Sunrun gained nearly 12% on Thursday.

Janney Analyst Thomas Meric upgraded the stock to buy from neutral in a Thursday note, and also raised his price target to $32. That suggests an upside potential of 79.4% from Wednesday’s close.

“Positive to see RUN post an operationally solid quarter, beating customer additions expectations and reiterating its stance for continued margin expansion over the next few quarters,” Meric wrote.

Sunrun posted second-quarter earnings that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations, but fell short in its revenue guidance for the third quarter. The company’s guidance had sent other solar stocks, like Enphase Energy and Plug Power, down during Wednesday’s trading session. Enphase edged up down slightly and Plug Power gained 2.3% on Thursday.

Shares have lost 17% so far this year.

— Pia Singh

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

Southwest Airlines — Shares slipped 2.5% after Jefferies downgraded the air carrier to underperform from hold. The firm cited difficulty competing against premium providers.

Etsy — Stock in the e-commerce company plummeted nearly 12% after reporting quarterly results. Etsy disappointed investors on Wednesday with lower forward guidance despite a second-quarter earnings beat.

Qualcomm — The chipmaker tumbled 9%. Qualcomm posted adjusted revenue of $8.44 billion, falling short of analysts’ estimates for $8.5 billion, per Refinitiv. The company also gave soft guidance and noted weak smartphone chip sales.

Read the full list here.

— Brian Evans

Energy stocks gained on Thursday, boosting the S&P 500 sector 1.5% during midday trading,

The move in energy stocks came as oil prices rose on an extended output cut from Saudi Arabia. APA Corporation was the biggest gainer, up 6.4%.

Other significant winners included Williams, Devon Energy and Hess, last up 3% each. Diamondback Energy, Exxon Mobil and Halliburton added about 2%.

— Samantha Subin

Shares of Clorox surged nearly 10 during midday trading, continuing Wednesday’s rally fueled by the company’s earnings expectations.

The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.67 per share on $2.02 billion in revenue, while analysts polled by Refinitiv expected earnings of $1.18 per share and revenue of $1.88 billion.

Clorox’s earnings showed a better-than-expected gross margin, showing strong consumer demand and consumers’ ability to absorb the higher costs of household goods. 

— Pia Singh

There are the S&P 500 names falling to fresh lows Thursday, with several moving on the back of quarterly earnings reports.

Here are the names:

• Pfizer trading at lows not seen since Mar, 2021
• Extra Space Storage trading at lows not seen since Apr, 2021
• DXC Technology trading at lows not seen since Nov, 2020. DXC is also on pace for its worst day since Mar 16, 2020 when DXC lost -28.34%

Seven stocks in the broad market index hit new highs:

— Hakyung Kim, Gina Francolla

Warner Bros. Discovery shares hovered near the flatline.

The media company reported second-quarter results that missed expectations on the top and bottom lines and a decline in subscribers from the previous period.

The company reported 95.8 million global direct-to-consumer streaming subscribers at the end of the quarter, below the 96.7 million subscribers analysts polled by StreetAccount expected. That also marked a nearly 2 million decline in subscribers from the end of the first quarter.

The company, which launched its combined Max streaming service during the period, posted a loss of 51 cents a share on revenues of $10.36 billion. That fell short of the 38-cent loss and $10.44 billion in revenues expected by analysts, per Refinitiv.

— Lillian Rizzo, Samantha Subin

The S&P 500 dropped more than 1% in Wednesday’s session, its first slide of that size in more than two months. But that doesn’t necessarily indicate more bad performance ahead, according to The Carson Group.

The broad index finished 1.4% lower. It last ended a session down more than 1% on May 23, when the index closed 1.1% below flat.

But investors shouldn’t take that as a bad sign, as data analyzed by The Carson Group shows the S&P 500 has gained 14.8% on average when comparing the first drop of 1% or more in more than two months with the index’s price one year later. The S&P 500 has been higher a year later all but one of the previous 27 times it has fallen at least 1% for the first time in more than two months.

To be sure, that doesn’t mean it will necessarily be an easy ascent. The index was higher about two out of every three times when looking at one month after the drop. It was up less than four out of every five times at the six-month mark.

— Alex Harring

Expedia shares shed more than 15% after reporting mixed quarterly results.

Adjusted second-quarter earnings came in at $2.89, topping the $2.32 expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv. Revenues came in at $3.36 billion, falling short of the $3.37 billion expected.

Bookings also fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. The metric came in at $27.32 billion, versus the $28.23 billion expected, according to FactSet estimates.

Other travel-related stocks lagged, with Airbnb and Booking Holdings each down more than 2%. TripAdvisor lost nearly 9% after reporting mixed earnings results.

— Samantha Subin

Investor Bill Ackman said he is betting against 30-year Treasurys as a hedge against the impact of long-term rates on stocks.

Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, said he is “short in size” on the 30-year Treasurys because it’s also “a high probability standalone bet.” He said he would be very surprised if we don’t find ourselves in a world with persistent 3% inflation.

He added that he’s implementing the short position through put options.

— Yun Li

The real estate sector fell 2% on Thursday and was on pace for its fifth negative day in six.

Host Hotels, Simon Property and Equinix all down almost 6% or more, and all reported after the bell Wednesday.

Week to date the sector is also down more than 3% and headed for its third straight weekly loss.

— Samantha Subin, Gina Francolla

The services sector in the U.S. expanded at a slower than expected pace in July, according to a report Thursday from the Institute for Supply Management.

The ISM Services PMI came in at a 52.7 reading, representing the percentage of companies reporting expansion for the month. That was slightly below the Dow Jones estimate for 53.3 and below June’s 53.9.

Prices pointed higher for the month, with 56.8% of companies reporting increases. However, that was offset by a 2.4-point drop in employment, a 5.5-point decline in inventories and a 2.1-poiint decrease in business activity and production.

Separately, the Commerce Department reported that total orders from manufacturers increased 2.3% in June, slightly better than the 2.2% estimate.

—Jeff Cox