Dow Jones| Nasdaq | US Stock Market Today | Live: S&P 500, Dow futures hold steady as investors await Mideast deal; tech stocks tumble
Dow Jones Today | US Stock Market Live: The Dow and S&P 500 indexes closed lower on Thursday, pausing after a strong start to the week, as investors digested the latest round of corporate earnings and looked for signs of progress toward a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran.
Diageo's new CEO Dave Lewis unveiled a $1 billion cost-cutting plan on Thursday, saying the world's top spirits maker must adapt to a prolonged period of weak growth.
Lewis plans to use savings to invest for growth, including by reducing prices on some brands, and expanding in fast-growing areas including Guinness and canned cocktails.
Investors welcomed the overhaul as a sign that Lewis, who has been leading Diageo since January, was moving quickly to tackle years of stagnant or falling sales.
Shares in the Johnnie Walker whisky and Guinness beer maker rose as much as 11% at one point to a more than five-month high. The stock eventually closed 5.6% higher.
U.S. workers again saw their slice of the U.S. economy slide to a record low in the second quarter amid an ongoing productivity boom that is producing output gains which are outpacing wage growth, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday.
The so-called labor share of nominal gross domestic product, which BLS defines as the percentage of output that accrues to workers in the form of compensation, fell to 52.9% in the second quarter from 53.7% in the first quarter. That was the lowest since the series began in 1947, BLS said as it reported stronger-than-expected growth in second-quarter productivity.
Data storage company Western Digital lost 15.5% and memory chip maker Sandisk dropped 10.1% in premarket trading, after having shot up 200% and 400% this year. Both companies forecast quarterly revenue above expectations, betting on strong AI-driven demand.
Investors are weighing the Federal Reserve’s next policy move as officials monitor the inflationary impact of elevated energy costs. With Chair Kevin Warsh offering little forward guidance, market expectations for a September rate hike or no change are now nearly evenly split, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem is due to speak on monetary policy later in the day.
U.S. stock futures were mixed on Thursday as investors paused after this week’s record-setting rally and awaited details of a potential Middle East peace deal. Dow futures rose 124 points, or 0.23%, and S&P 500 futures edged up 0.06%, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.76% as upbeat forecasts from Western Digital and Sandisk failed to impress investors.
