Stock market today: S&P 500 closes higher in whipsaw session as jobs report looms

The S&P 500 closed higher for third-straight day on Thursday, but investors had to contend with stocks swinging between gains and losses intraday on a deluge of corporate earnings and economic data ahead of the crucial monthly jobs report due Friday.

At 4:00 p.m. ET (21:00 GMT), the S&P 500 index rose 0.3%, the NASDAQ Composite gained 0.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 125 points, or 0.30%.

Jobless claims rise; nonfarm payrolls eyed.
The number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits edged up by more than expected last week, consistent with a slowing — albeit slowly — labor market.

Initial jobless claims came in at 219,000 in the week ended on Feb. 1. The prior week’s figure was slightly revised higher by 1,000 to 208,000, while economists had expected a reading of 214,000.

The data comes ahead of the release of the all-important nonfarm payrolls report for January on Friday, which should provide a glimpse into labor demand that is closely monitored by Federal Reserve policymakers. Economists are predicting that the US economy added 169,000 jobs last month, down from 256,000 in December.

Earlier this week, separate data have shown that private payrolls expanded in January, while job openings slipped by the most in 14 months. However, resilient hiring and a relatively low level of layoffs has suggested that the labor market is not entering a sudden downturn, bolstering the case for the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged until at least June.

Quarterly earnings continue; Amazon reports after the closing bell

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E-commerce giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is due to headline a slew of quarterly returns on Thursday, after the close.

Like its Big Tech peers, the company is expected to face fresh questioning from analysts about its artificial intelligence spending plans following DeepSeek’s rise to prominence.

This week, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) announced a capital spending outlook in 2025 that exceeded Wall Street estimates, partly sparking a downturn in the search giant’s stock price on Wednesday. Executives at Facebook-owner Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and software titan Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) have also defended their own massive AI expenditures, arguing that they are necessary to keep up in the race to monetize the technology.

Elsewhere, Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) stock rose more than 3% after the drugmaker posted a surge in fourth-quarter revenue thanks in part to a spike in demand for its obesity treatment Zepbound.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) stock soared over 9% after the fast food holding company surpassed estimates for fourth-quarter comparable sales, as value offerings from Taco Bell attracted budget-conscious US consumers to the popular Tex-Mex chain.

Tapestry (NYSE:TPR) stock jumped 12% after the fashion holding company raised its 2025 guidance and reported better-than-expected second-quarter results.

Ford (NYSE:F) stock fell over 7% after the auto giant forecast weaker annual profit at a time when the threat of US tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which have been temporarily paused, continues to stoke uncertainty.

Qualcomm, Arm , Skyworks slump to pressure chips
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) stock slid more than 3% after the chipmaker forecast no revenue growth for its lucrative patent licensing business in 2025 after its license with China’s Huawei expired. The segment was expected to represent another leg of growth for the company.

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Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) sank over 3% after its earnings outlook for the current quarter was in line with expectations, denting hopes that AI demand will spur outsized sales for the chip designer.

Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:SWKS), which makes chips for consumer electronics such as smartphones, fell 24% after warning that it expects Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to reduce demand for its parts to be used in the upcoming iPhone 17 cycle.

(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)