Stocks today: Live updates

Stocks opened lower on Thursday, with equities selling off after fresh gross domestic product data signaled signs of slowing economic growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back 500 points, or 1.3%. The S&P 500 pulled back 1.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.3%.

— Brian Evans

U.S. gross domestic product slowed in the first quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Thursday, which weigh on stock futures before the opening bell.

GDP expanded 1.6% in the first quarter, while economists polled by Dow Jones forecast growth of 2.4%.

— Brian Evans

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

Meta Platforms — The Facebook parent company plunged more than 14% after issuing lighter-than-expected second-quarter revenue guidance. However, first-quarter earnings and revenue both came above analysts’ estimates. 

Honeywell — The industrial stock rose 2.2% in premarket trading after the company posted earnings per share of $2.25, beating LSEG analysts’ estimates of $2.17. Revenue for the quarter came in at $9.11 billion, compared to the $9.03 billion analysts were expecting.

Merck — The pharmaceutical giant added 2.1% on stronger-than-expected earnings for the first quarter. Merck earned an adjusted $2.07 per share on $15.78 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG forecast $1.88 in earnings per share and $15.2 billion in revenue. 

The full list can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

Shares of Caterpillar fell more than 3% in early trading after the construction equipment company reported softer-than-expected sales for the first quarter.

The company generated $5.60 in adjusted earnings per share on $15.8 billion of revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were looking for $5.14 per share on $16.04 billion of revenue.

Sales were down year over year, including a decline in the construction industries segment, which is Caterpillar’s largest.

“The decrease in sales volume was primarily driven by lower sales of equipment to end users; there was not a significant impact from changes in dealer inventories,” Caterpillar said in a press release.

— Jesse Pound

Airlines Southwest and American diverged in premarket trading as investors reacted to their first-quarter earnings reports.

Southwest dropped more than 7% after missing Wall Street expectations on both lines. It saw 36 cents in adjusted losses per share on $6.33 billion in revenue, while analysts surveyed by LSEG forecast a loss of just 34 cents and revenue at $6.42 billion.

Southwest warned that delays from Boeing could hurt its growth into 2025.

On the other hand, American added more than 4%. Despite also coming in below analysts’ forecasts on both lines, investors appeared focused on stronger-than-anticipated guidance for the current quarter.

American posted an adjusted loss of 34 cents on revenue of $12.57 billion for the first quarter. That is under the consensus estimates from analysts surveyed by LSEG of a 29 cent loss and $12.6 billion in revenue.

— Alex Harring, Leslie Josephs

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

The industrial firm posted earnings per share of $2.25, beating analysts’ estimates of $2.17, according to LSEG. Revenue for the quarter came in at $9.11 billion, compared to the $9.03 billion analysts were expecting.

Shares were last higher by 1.8%.

— Tanaya Macheel

Merck shares climbed nearly 2% before the bell on Thursday as first-quarter earnings came in ahead of expectations.

The pharmaceutical giant earned an adjusted $2.07 per share on $15.78 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG anticipated just $1.88 in earnings per share and $15.2 billion in revenue.

Merck was aided in the period by strong sales of its vaccination products and Keytruda cancer drug. Shares of the stock, which is part of the Dow, have jumped more than 16% in 2024.

— Alex Harring, Annika Kim Constantino

Chipotle Mexican Grill shares jumped 3.2% during Thursday premarket trading on the back of a better-than-expected quarterly print.

The burrito chain on Wednesday reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that surpassed analysts’ expectations, fueled by higher traffic to its restaurants. Earnings per share came out at $13.37, excluding items, while analysts polled by LSEG had called for $11.68 per share. Chipotle posted $2.7 billion in revenue, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.68 billion.

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

For more on Chipotle’s earnings, read here.

— Pia Singh

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

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.5% after it snapped a five-day winning streak on Thursday, while France’s CAC 40 was 0.2% lower, and Germany’s DAX was down 0.5%.

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

The benchmark Nikkei 225 has fallen 8.3% from a record high hit in late March.

Investors are waiting for the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy decision on Friday. It will be closely watched for inflation outlook against a backdrop of a weakening yen, higher oil prices and strong wage growth.

The yen slipped past 155 against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, touching a new 34-year low.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

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

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

Revenue for the fourth quarter came in at 12.43 trillion won, an all-time quarterly high.

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

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

— Lim Hui Jie

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

On a quarter on quarter basis, GDP rose 1.3%, also beating Reuters expectations of 0.6%.

Exports from South Korea in the first quarter rose by 0.9%, as exports of IT items, such as cellular phones, increased. Imports contracted by 0.7%, owing to decreased imports of electronic equipment.

— Lim Hui Jie

iCapital chief investment strategist Anastasia Amoroso believes that there’s a good chance the S&P 500 could rise to 5,500 by year’s end.

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

“I think investors are getting another entry point here that’s quite attractive,” she said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Wednesday afternoon. Amoroso specifically highlighted semiconductor stocks for their potential to outperform going forward.

As catalysts for an encouraging equities backdrop, the strategist cited strong corporate earnings and consumer spending, alongside a pickup in global manufacturing momentum.

— Lisa Kailai Han

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

— Lisa Kailai Han