Today’s Market Wrap Up and a Glimpse Into Friday

Stocks rallied yet again, sending the S&P 500 to its sixth consecutive all-time high. Investors celebrated jobless claims showing that the economy is back on track. Weekly jobless claims came in at their lowest level since the pandemic reared its head.

The Nasdaq also finished higher while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added more than 100 points amid a strengthening economy and a second-quarter earnings parade that is just getting underway.

Energy stocks were a bright spot in the session after WTI crude oil surpassed USD 75 per barrel. Dow member Chevron benefited from the bullish sentiment and tacked on about 1.5%

New in the Hood

The market was abuzz about Robinhood’s IPO filing. The commission-free trading app has been generating revenue hand-over-fist as the retail-investor-fueled meme stock craze has taken shape. Now Robinhood seeks to capitalize on that demand and list on the Nasdaq under a sign-of-the-times trading symbol, HOOD. To demonstrate how popular the app has become, Robinhood generated USD 522 million in Q1 2021 revenue vs. USD 127.6 million in the corresponding year-ago period.

Stocks to Watch

Nike gained 2% on the day after touching on a new all-time high. The sports apparel company turned in impressive sales results and investors expect the momentum to continue.

Walgreens did not receive the same reception on Wall Street even though it also produced a solid quarter. The stock was down 7% in the session despite having lifted its outlook for the year. Investors are still ahead as the stock is up more than 20% year-to-date.

Meme stock AMC Entertainment shed 4% in the session. The stock’s market cap is currently just over USD 27 billion but the company has billions of dollars of debt on its balance sheet. Investors might be starting to think twice about the sustainability of the valuation.

Look Ahead

Investors should keep an eye on Virgin Galactic on Friday.  Billionaire Richard Branson will reportedly head into space on July 11, nine days before rival Jeff Bezos’ space flight. The stock is up more than 4% in extended-hours trading.

On Friday, the much-anticipated Employment Report for June will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Wells Fargo predicts that hiring accelerated in June vs. May and that the economy added 750K non-farm payrolls.