Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the opening bell on April 10, 2025.
Charly Triballeau | Afp | Getty Images
S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures rose on Thursday, the last trading day of the week, as traders tried to recover some of the steep losses suffered in the previous session.
Futures contracts tied to the broad market index were up 0.4%, while those linked to the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 advanced 0.7%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures tumbled 602 points, or 1.5%, driven by a 19% decline in UnitedHealth following an earnings miss.
Eli Lilly, on the other hand, jumped 11% in premarket trading after delivering positive trial results for a weight-loss pill. U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor popped 3% on a strong quarterly financial report.
Those moves come after a sharp decline on Wednesday, led by tech names. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 700 points. The Nasdaq Composite declined more than 3%, bringing the tech-heavy index closer to bear market territory.
Chipmaking giant Nvidia led the tech sell-off with a drop of nearly 7% in the previous session. The artificial intelligence darling disclosed a quarterly charge of about $5.5 billion tied to exporting its H20 graphics processing units, or GPUs, to China and other destinations due to U.S. export controls. Shares traded around flat before the bell on Thursday.
Stocks also took a hit on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Trump’s levies could drive up inflation in the near term and are “likely to move us further away from our goals.” Powell said the central bank may find itself in a “challenging scenario” in which its dual-mandate goals — to achieve maximum employment and stable prices — are in tension.
“Despite the fact that Powell said that the dual mandate wasn’t currently in opposition, he clearly touched a nerve with investors, who are now worried that a recession and stagflation is more likely,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management.
With that action, the major averages were headed for a losing week. The market is dark on Friday is observance of Good Friday.
The Dow and S&P 500 have both slid more than 1% on the week. The Nasdaq has dropped 2.5%.
Shares of Eli Lilly surge after diabetes and weight loss drug delivers positive trial results
Shares of Eli Lilly jumped 13% in premarket trading after the drugmaker said its Type 2 diabetes oral treatment achieved positive results in a phase three trial.
Shares of Eli Lilly moved sharply higher Thursday morning.
The drug, known as orforglipron, also appeared to help with weight loss. The trial showed that patients taking the highest dose lost an average of 16 pounds over 40 weeks.
Eli Lilly said that safety profile of the drug trial was consistent with other GLP-1 weight loss drugs. The Eli Lilly drug is a pill, while many of the most popular weight loss treatments require an injection.
— Jesse Pound
Taiwan Semiconductor beats revenue estimates as tariff worry lingers
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company stock on Thursday.
TSMC reported first-quarter revenue of $839.25 billion New Taiwan dollars, while analysts polled by LSEG were looking for NT$835.13 billion. The company reiterated a forecast for annual revenue growth in 2025 of roughly 20%.
TSMC is currently subject to the blanket 10% tariff instituted by Trump. The company could face duties as high as 32% once Trump’s 90-day pause on his “reciprocal tariffs” ends.
— Brian Evans
UnitedHealth tumbles on earnings miss
UnitedHealth shares plunged 19% before the bell on Thursday after the insurer posted weak earnings and guidance.
The company earned $7.20 per share, excluding items, on $109.58 billion of revenue in the first quarter. Analysts polled by LSEG penciled in $7.29 in earnings per share and $111.6 billion in revenue.
UnitedHealth also told investors to expect between $26 and $26.50 in earnings per share, excluding items, for the full year. That is down from earlier guidance of between $29.50 and $30. It also came in under the consensus estimate of $29.72 from analysts surveyed by FactSet.
— Alex Harring
Asia markets rise after Wall Street slides overnight
Asia-Pacific markets rose Thursday, breaking ranks with Wall Street that declined sharply after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned that ongoing trade tensions could challenge the central bank’s goals of controlling inflation and spurring growth.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index increased 1.61% to end the day at 21,395.14, while Mainland China’s CSI 300 closed flat at 3,772.22.
Indian stocks reversed course from losses in early trade. The benchmark Nifty 50 advanced 1.61%, while the broader BSE Sensex surged 1.63% as of 2:15 p.m. Indian Standard Time.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.35% to end the day at 34,377.60, while the broader Topix index added 1.29% to 2,530.23.
In South Korea, the Kospi index increased 0.94% to close at 2,470.41, while the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 1.81% to 711.75, after the central bank held interest rates at 2.75%, as expected by economists polled by Reuters.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended the day up 0.78% at 7,819.10.
— Amala Balakrishner
Stocks head for weekly loss
Major U.S. indexes are heading for a weekly decline. The S&P 500 has tumbled 1.63% this week, while the Nasdaq Composite is down 2.5%. The 30-stock Dow has lost 1.35%.
— Pia Singh
Tariffs are beginning to drive cancellations of Chinese freight ships
U.S. importers are receiving an increase in canceled sailings by freight ships coming out of China, resulting from a pullback in orders driven by President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
Freight company HLS Group recorded a total of 80 canceled sailings out of China, and wrote in a note to clients that carriers have started to suspend or adjust transpacific services amid the U.S.-China trade war. The impact of the diminished freight container traffic to North America will affect links in the economy and supply chain, including the ports and logistics companies moving the freight.
China now faces up to a 245% tariff on imports to the U.S., the White House said Tuesday, although that excludes several electronic devices after Trump’s latest tariff exemption. Beijing said last week it raised its levies on U.S. goods to 125%.
Read more here for what freight experts told CNBC.
— Lori Ann LaRocco, Pia Singh
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