US stocks drifted on Thursday, easing back on a bid for fresh records as AI optimism waned and markets waited for more detail on President Donald Trump’s tariff plans.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was little changed, coming off a three-day win streak that saw the benchmark index close Wednesday on the cusp of setting a new all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) traded 0.2% higher, with a record not far off.
Meanwhile, The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell 0.2% as tech stocks struggled to regain the momentum that propelled the previous day’s gains. Nvidia (NVDA) shares dropped after its supplier SK Hynix (000660.KS) flagged uncertainty about chip demand this year, which also weighed on other related stocks.
Investors are still digesting Trump’s early-days policy charge, which brought an AI push that invigorated tech names but left unclear when the outlined tariffs on big trading partners — a risk for inflation and stocks — might hit. The focus is now on Trump’s remote speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos later Thursday for more insight into his trade policy.
Eyes are on earnings to potentially buoy markets, after Netflix (NFLX) set that tone on Wednesday. GE Aerospace (GE) shares popped after the jet engine maker said it will raise share buybacks to $7 billion. In air carriers, American Airlines (AAL) stock slid after a downbeat 2025 profit forecast, and Alaska Airlines (ALK) shares rose thanks to a smaller-than-expected first quarter loss forecast.
On the data front, US jobless claims increased by 6,000 to 223,000, official figures released on Thursday showed. Economists had expected a reading of 220,000 for the week.
LIVE8 updates
Packed house at Davos awaiting President Trump’s remote speech
Attendees at the World Economic Forum await President Trump’s special address via video.
Investors watching the remote speech will be paying attention to any talk about the President’s tariff policy.
10 mins ago
Bitcoin reverses losses, rises above $105,000 per token
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose after Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis announced on X she will chair the Senate Banking Subcommittee on digital assets.
The token moved up to around $105,000 at around 10:50 a.m. ET.
Earlier this week Senator Lummis said she spoke with Eric Trump about the possibility of creating a strategic bitcoin reserve on Monday at the inaugural lunch.
Late last year she introduced a proposal that would give the Federal Reserve the right to own the token.
40 mins ago
Chip stocks fall as Nvidia supplier flags uncertain demand
Yahoo Finance’s Laura Bratton reports:
Chip stocks fell across the board early on Thursday after a Nvidia (NVDA) supplier made comments on its earnings call that indicated uncertainty about semiconductor demand this year.
South Korea-based SK Hynix (000660.KS) makes memory chips for Nvidia’s GPUs (graphics processing units), which are used in data centers to underpin artificial intelligence software.
After SK Hynix reported fourth quarter earnings that surpassed analysts’ expectations, its head of finance, Woo-Hyun Kim, painted a careful picture of the year ahead.
“2025’s memory demand outlook is clouded by inventory adjustments from PC and smartphone OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] as well as strengthened protective trade policies and geopolitical risks,” Kim said on a post-earnings conference call.
Following the comments, Nvidia shares sank as much as 2%. British chip designer Arm’s (ARM) stock dropped nearly 6%, and SK Hynix rival Micron (MU) shares fell roughly 4%.
Is AI out of control? HPE CEO says it’s up in the air.
Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi reports from Davos:
Up and down the promenade at the World Economic Forum this week, leaders agree on one thing about artificial intelligence: It’s darn powerful, and it’s starting to materially impact how business is done and will be done.
Think AI on the cusp of rendering human call centers and HR departments obsolete.
What leaders can’t agree on is whether AI is already out of control — whether it’s beyond the point of being successfully regulated or having the proper guardrails.
“I’m not sure it’s [AI] out of control. I think there are use cases that sometimes people want to showcase [for] … their own benefits, to see, hey, this is the potential. But the reality is that enterprises are very smart,” HPE CEO Antonio Neri told Yahoo Finance at the annual gathering of top business leaders.
American Airlines tumbles after surprise quarterly loss forecast
American Airlines (AAL) stock fell nearly 8% after the carrier forecast a surprise loss for its first quarter. The outlook is a departure from the major air travel carriers’ bullish performance in recent quarters.
American expects an adjusted loss of as much as $0.40 a share for the current quarter. Analysts were expecting a profit of at least $0.01, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
The airline posted record fourth quarter revenue of $13.7 billion and record full-year revenue of $54.2 billion.
The company’s profit for the current quarter is expected to be impacted by a rise in non-fuel expenses as it continues to win back business after changing its corporate sales strategy.
American had implemented changes that pushed corporate customers to book directly with the airline, instead of third-party travel managers.
Today at 2:38 PM UTC
Electronic Arts stock falls after cut to bookings outlook
Electronic Arts (EA) stock tumbled 15% on Thursday after the game publisher said quarterly bookings fell to roughly $2.22 billion, missing analyst expectations.
The decline was due to the poor performance of two of its video games: soccer title “EA Sports FC 2025” and “Dragon Age: The Veilguard.” Both of those missed bookings expectations.
The company cut its bookings outlook for the 2025 fiscal year to a range of $7 billion to $7.15 billion.
EA is expected to release its complete results on Feb. 4.
Today at 2:34 PM UTC
S&P 500, Nasdaq waver as tech struggles
US stocks were mixed on Thursday, pulling back from near record levels as the markets awaited a speech from President Trump at the World Economic Forum.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) slipped roughly 0.2%, coming off a record intraday high on Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was little changed.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell 0.5% as tech stocks struggled. Nvidia (NVDA) shares slipped, along with those of Apple (AAPL) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL).
Investors are still awaiting new developments on the tariff front. Trump is expected to remotely give an address to the WEF in Davos later in the day.
