Stock Market Today: Live Updates

Honeywell rose in premarket trading after reporting financial results for the latest quarter.

The industrial company posted earnings per share of $2.25, beating analysts' estimates of $2.17, according to LSEG. Revenue for the quarter was $9.11 billion, compared to $9.03 billion expected by analysts.

Shares were last up 1.8%.

Tanaya Machel

Chipotle Mexican Grillshares jumped 3.2% premarket Thursday on better-than-expected quarterly earnings.

The burrito chain on Wednesday reported first-quarter profits and revenue that beat analysts' expectations, fueled by higher footfall at its restaurants. Earnings per share stood at $13.37 excluding items, while analysts polled by LSEG had expected $11.68 per share. Chipotle reported revenue of $2.7 billion, beating the expected consensus estimate of $2.68 billion.

Chipotle saw traffic increase across all revenue groups during the quarter, CEO Brian Niccol said. Customers continued to flock to the restaurant chain even after it raised prices in October, citing inflation.

To learn more about Chipotle's earnings, read here.

Pia Singh

European stocks opened slightly higher on Wednesday, with the benchmark Stoxx 600 index down 0.2% at 8:15 a.m. London time.

Britain's FTSE 100 index climbed 0.5% after ending a five-day winning streak on Thursday, while France's CAC 40 was down 0.2% and Germany's DAX was down 0. .5%.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 2.1% in afternoon trading, while the broader Topix index fell 1.64%.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 8.3% from its record high reached in late March.

Investors await the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision on Friday. The inflation outlook will be closely watched amid a weakening yen, rising oil prices and strong wage growth.

They surpassed 155 against the US dollar on Thursday, touching a new 34-year low.

Shreyashi Sanyal

Shares of South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix fell nearly 3% despite the company releasing its highest operating profit in almost two years.

The chipmaker reported an operating profit of 2.89 trillion South Korean won ($2.1 billion) for the first quarter of 2024, a 734% year-on-year jump, with net profit of 1.92 trillion won.

Revenue for the fourth quarter was 12.43 trillion won, an all-time quarterly record.

SK Hynix explained that this was due to an increase in sales of AI server products, “supported by its leadership in AI memory technology.”

The company also added that it “believes that it has entered the phase of a clear rebound, after a prolonged slowdown.”

Lim Hui Jie

South Korea records GDP growth by 3.4% in the first quarter, exceeding the 2.4% expected by economists polled by Reuters and marking its strongest quarterly growth since the fourth quarter of 2021.

On a quarterly basis, GDP grew by 1.3%, also beating Reuters expectations of 0.6%.

South Korea's exports in the first quarter rose 0.9 percent, as exports of IT items, such as cell phones, increased. Imports contracted by 0.7%, due to lower imports of electronic equipment.

Lim Hui Jie

Anastasia Amoroso, chief investment strategist at iCapital, believes there is a good chance that the S&P 500 index will reach 5,500 points by the end of the year.

The broader market index closed at 5,071.63 on Wednesday afternoon. This target would represent an 8% increase for the benchmark index.

“I think investors get another pretty attractive entry point here,” she said Wednesday afternoon on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” Amoroso specifically highlighted semiconductor stocks for their potential for outperformance going forward.

As catalysts for an encouraging stock market backdrop, the strategist cited strong corporate profits and consumer spending, as well as a recovery in global manufacturing momentum.

Lisa Kailai Han

Here are the stocks moving the most during extended trading hours:

Lisa Kailai Han