Stock market today: Live updates

After a brief scare that layoffs could be on the rise, unemployment claims from the past week indicated that the labor market is still strong.

First-time claims for jobless benefits totaled 215,000 for the week ended May 18, down 8,000 from the previous period’s upwardly revised level, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for 220,000.

Continuing claims, which run a week behind, nudged higher to 1.794 million but that was just below the FactSet estimate.

—Jeff Cox

Nvidia’s 10-for-1 stock split is the latest in a string of higher-profile stock splits this year – with companies like Walmart and Chipotle citing a desire to make their stock more affordable to investors and employees alike. Nvidia is the third company with a share price over $900 to announce a stock split this year – Chipotle at over $3,100 and Lam Research at more than $960 – being the others.

Nvidia’s stock price could also open the door for its inclusion in the Dow Industrials – should that index committee feel the desire to add one of the world’s biggest stocks to the blue chip average. The price-weighted Dow gives higher-priced stocks more influence, which makes it impossible for Nvidia to qualify at its current $1,000 price tag. However, a post-split price of $100 makes an inclusion more palatable since about one-third of the Dow’s 30 stocks have share prices of around $100 or less.

What could Nvidia potentially replace in the Dow? Two tech stalwarts might be targets – fellow chipmaker Intel and networking equipment maker Cisco Systems. Both longtime Dow stocks currently have some of the smallest weightings in the index and have seen their businesses lag competitors in recent years. Those stocks have also drastically underperformed the broader market – Cisco down 3% and Intel up 7% over the past year, while the S&P 500 has risen 28%.

Nvidia’s big earnings beat and strong guidance lifted the broader semiconductor sector, as enthusiasm around AI continues to grow.

Super Micro Computer jumped 4% before the bell, while Micron Technology and AMD were up 3%. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) was also higher by 3%.

European stocks opened slightly higher on Thursday, with the Stoxx 600 index up 0.3% at 8:18 a.m. London time.

France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX were both down by 0.3%.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 bucked the trend to slip 0.1%, as traders digested a surprise election announcement and Wednesday’s U.K. inflation figures, which curbed market expectations of a June rate cut.

— Jenni Reid

The yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds rose to 1.012%, the highest level since 2012 in afternoon trading.

The Bank of Japan kept its policy rate unchanged last month, holding its benchmark policy rate at 0%-0.1%. BOJ had said it would continue to conduct bond purchases in line with its March decision.

Japan shares rose, with the Nikkei 225 index up 1.31%.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

South Korea’s central bank held its benchmark policy rate at 3.5% as expected by a Reuters poll.

It was the 11th consecutive meeting at which the Bank of Korea held interest rates steady. BOK said it expects the economy to grow 2.5% this year, higher than its prior forecast of 2.1%. 

It expects the speed of IT economic expansion, consumption recovery, and monetary policies of major countries to influence the South Korea’s growth.  

BOK expects this year’s consumer price inflation to be at 2.6%, and core price inflation at 2.2%, same as the levels it estimated in February.  

The central bank is expected to cut rates by 50 basis points in the fourth quarter, according to a Reuters poll.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Shares of Singapore’s national carrier Singapore Airlines fell as much as 1.3% on Thursday, its largest drop in more than a month.

This comes after SIA flight SQ321 encountered extreme turbulence on Tuesday, resulting in one fatality and the flight making an emergency landing in Bangkok, Thailand. Singapore’s markets were closed on Wednesday.

The fatality was a 73-year-old British man, who died due to a suspected heart attack.

As of Wednesday, 58 people are still in hospital, according to local media CNA, including 20 in intensive care.

— Lim Hui Jie

Japan’s manufacturing activity expanded for the first time in a year, while services continued to grow in May, according to a private survey.

The headline au Jibun Bank flash Japan manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.5 in May from 49.6 in April. A PMI reading above 50 signifies growth.

The flash services PMI grew 53.6 in May, down from a final reading of 54.3 in April.

Business activity expanded at its fastest pace in nine months at 52.4 in May compared with April’s 52. 3.

“The expansion in business activity remained services-led, but the near-stabilization of manufacturing output offers hope of growth broadening out later in the year,” the survey read.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Here are some of the stocks on the move after the close:

• Snowflake — The cloud-computing company jumped more than 4%. Fiscal first-quarter revenue surpassed the Street’s expectations, coming in at $829 million, versus consensus estimates for $786 million, per LSEG.
• VF Corp. — The apparel and footwear company sank nearly 12% after posting an unexpected loss for the recent quarter and revenue that fell short of Wall Street’s estimates.
• LiveRamp Holdings — The advertising technology stock popped nearly 17% on its fiscal fourth-quarter results, surpassing analyst estimates, per FactSet. LiveRamp also issued strong guidance for the current quarter and full year.

Read the full list of names on the move here.

— Samantha Subin

Shares of Live Nation Entertainment slid 6% in extended trading after Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar, that the Department of Justice will sue the ticketing giant for antitrust violations.

Remedies that could be on the table include a break-up of Live Nation, sources familiar told Bloomberg. The concert promoter merged with Ticketmaster back in 2010.

Earlier this month, Live Nation reported a record first quarter, with revenue climbing to $3.8 billion, up 21% from the year-ago period.

–Darla Mercado

Nvidia shares popped more than 6% to surpass the $1,000 mark for the first time ever during overnight trading following another robust quarter driven by artificial intelligence strength.

The chipmaker posted adjusted earnings of $6.12 per share, surpassing an LSEG estimate of $5.59. Revenue came in at $26.04 billion and ahead of an estimate of $24.65 billion. The company also offered strong sales guidance, saying that it anticipates sales of $28 billion for the current quarter, versus an LSEG estimate of $26.61 billion.

Nvidia also announced a 10-for-1 stock split and said that revenue surged 262% year over year during the period for a third consecutive quarter of growth exceeding 200%.

— Samantha Subin, Kif Leswing and Ashley Capoot