US stocks close at session highs to post solid gain

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 closed at their highs of the day with solid gains, while the Russell 2000 retreated on Thursday.

At the sector level, advances were widespread, with 8 of 11 S&P 500 sector ETFs up on the day. Energy stocks dropped, and were at the bottom of that leaderboard.

Nvidia climbed as enthusiasm for the picks-and-shovels AI trade returns and Morgan Stanley doubled down on the chip designer as its top pick in the sector. Meta booked its 14th consecutive day in the green, a record for the stock. Its Magnificent 7 peer Tesla headed lower amid disastrous European sales figures.

Skyworks Solutions, a key supplier to Apple, was the worst-performing S&P 500 constituent, shedding about a quarter of its value after the company revealed that it’s about to lose a big chunk of its iPhone business.

Despite posting very solid results, Qualcomm tumbled as investors doubt that strength in the smartphone market will have staying power.

America is one natZyn under Philip Morris, as the company’s oral products shipments ramped in the final three months of 2024, fueling a massive gain for the stock.

Way better-than-expected quarterly results along with improved guidance propelled luxury goods makers Ralph Lauren and Tapestry sharply higher.

Palantir Technologies was also one of the top performers in the S&P 500, with its market cap surpassing the likes of McDonald’s and American Express.

Ford had an abysmal session after telling investors that 2025 would be worse than 2024 from a profitability perspective.

Peloton soared as its earnings report and guidance for the current quarter bolstered resolve that its path toward profitability is at hand.

Roblox, on the other hand, was crushed as its daily active user count heads in the wrong direction.

Trump Media & Technology Group also made waves by filing for trademarks for a slew of ETFs, including one that would hold bitcoin.