Stock market today: Live updates

The Bank of England left its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Thursday, but said it expects monetary policy “to be restrictive for an extended period of time.”

England’s Monetary Policy Committee noted caution in a report, however, saying “key indicators of U.K. inflation persistence remain elevated.” the MPC voted 6-3 in favor of leaving rates unchanged in December.

— Brian Evans

The S&P 500 could follow the Dow’s suit in reaching a new record after the Fed’s rate-cut projections sparked a major rally.

At Wednesday’s close of 4707.09, the large-cap equity benchmark is 1.9% from its closing record of 4,796.56, and 2.4% from its intraday record high of 4,818.62. Both records were reached in early January 2022.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is 9% from its closing record and 10% from the intraday record.

— Yun Li

Shares of Merck and Moderna were up 0.7% and 6.3%, respectively, after the release of new data showing the use of Moderna’s mRNA-4157 and Merck’s Keytruda drugs to treat melanoma cut the risk of recurrence and death by almost 50%.

— Fred Imbert

The benchmark rate broke below 4% for the first time since August, as traders mounted bets on Fed rate cuts for 2024. The 10-year was last trading around 3.95%.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 1.7% in early trade to hit its highest point since Jan. 2022, while Germany’s DAX crossed the 17,000-point mark for the first time ever.

The Swiss National Bank on Thursday held interest rates steady at 1.75%, in line with analysts’ expectations.

The Swiss central bank, which has lifted rates from negative 0.75% in a series of hikes over the last 18 months, also held its interest rate on sight deposits at 1.75%.

— Karen Gilchrist

European stocks surged at Thursday’s open after the Federal Reserve’s dovish signal.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 1.6% in early trade, with mining stocks jumping 3.8% to lead gains as all sectors and major bourses traded in positive territory.

Oil prices continued to rise after energy firms pulled a bigger than expected 4.3 million barrels of crude from stockpiles for the week ended Dec. 8.

Contracts for West Texas Intermediate in January continued to gain 0.88% to trade at
$70.08 on Thursday, while Brent crude advanced almost 1% to trade at $74.93.

On Wednesday, the WTI contract finished 1.3% up at $69.47, while Brent was up 1.02% to $74.26.

Australia’s unemployment rate rose to 3.9% in November, up from October’s revised 3.8%.

It is the country’s highest rate since May 2022, and more than the 3.8% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

The country’s employment-to-population ratio returned to a record high of 64.6%, while the participation rate hit a new high of 67.2%, beating Reuters expectations of 66.9%. The participation rate refers to the number of people in the labor force as a percentage of the working age population.

— Lim Hui Jie

The Japanese yen strengthened against a weaker dollar Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve took a definitive stance on ending rate hikes and signaling cuts through next year.

The yen rose 0.2% to around 142 against the dollar, hitting its highest point in a week.

The Fed held its main lending rate at the 5.25%-5.5% range, while signaling that committee members penciled in at least three rate cuts in 2024, assuming quarter percentage point decreases.

The dollar sank nearly 1% against a basket of currencies following the decision.

Japan markets will now look toward the Bank of Japan’s move on interest rates next week. Markets are hopeful that the country’s central bank may not raise interest rates in that monetary policy meeting.

The Nikkei 225 rose 0.42% by the open.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

The Federal Reserve’s plans for three rate cuts in 2024 helped buoy the Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) on Wednesday.

The fund jumped nearly 5.6%. The prospect of lower rates is good news for solar stocks. The industry is especially sensitive to high interest rates, which hurt the valuation of the companies and raise financing costs.

TAN constituent Enphase Energy gained 7.8%, while SolarEdge Technologies jumped 8.4%. Sunrun soared nearly 20%, notching its best day in more than a year.

Nevertheless, the stocks have had a rough year. Enphase and SolarEdge are off 59% and 71% in 2023, while Sunrun is down nearly 38%.

–Darla Mercado, Ethan Kraft

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are all headed toward their seventh straight week of gains.

Week to date, the Dow and S&P are up 2.3% and 2.2%, respectively. The Nasdaq is also up 2.3% for the week.

If the Dow manages to close the week in the green, that would mark its longest winning streak since Feb. 22, 2019, when it recorded nine straight weeks of gains. The S&P 500 would log its longest winning streak since Nov. 3, 2017 if it notches another positive week.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq would be recording its longest winning streak since Jun. 16, 2023 if finishes higher for the week.

— Hakyung Kim

Check out the stocks making the biggest moves in post-market trading.

Adobe — Shares plunged by more than 5% after issuing light full-year earnings and revenue guidance for 2024. The company issued a revenue forecast between $21.3 billion to $21.5 billion in 2024. Analysts had estimated $21.73 billion, according to FactSet. 

Vir Biotechnology  — The immunology company shed 2.4% after announcing various cost-cutting measures, including a reduction of around 12% of its workforce. 

— Hakyung Kim

U.S. stock futures opened barely changed Wednesday night.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added just 2 points, or 0.01%.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.02% and 0.06%, respectively.

— Hakyung Kim