Wall Street drifted to a mixed close Thursday as drops for Ford Motor and Qualcomm worked against buoyant fashion and cigarette stocks.
- The S&P 500 rose 22.09 points, or 0.4%, to 6,083.57.
- The Dow fell 125.65 points, or 0.3%, to 44,747.63.
- The Nasdaq composite rose 99.66 points, or 0.5%, to 19,791.99.
Ford Motor fell 7.5% even though the automaker delivered a stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, the
AP reports. Investors focused instead on Ford's financial forecasts for 2025, which the company said incorporates "headwinds related to market factors."
Qualcomm, meanwhile, weighed on the tech industry after falling 3.7%. The company, whose products help power smartphones and other devices, reported profit for the latest quarter that topped analysts' forecasts, and analysts called the performance solid. But they also said expectations were high, and worries are rising about the wireless chip industry broadly. On the winning side of Wall Street was Tapestry, the company behind the Coach and Kate Spade brands, which jumped 12%. It reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected after attracting new, younger customers. Tapestry also raised its forecast for revenue and profit growth this fiscal year.
Philip Morris International, which sells Marlboro cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products around the world, was one of the strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500 and rallied 11% after reporting a better profit than expected. It also gave financial forecasts that topped expectations, and analysts pointed in particular to strength for its Zyn nicotine pouches. Ralph Lauren leaped 9.7% after reporting stronger profit and revenue than expected. Growth was particularly strong in China, where the company recently opened stores in Hong Kong and Beijing.
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Eli Lilly rallied 3.3% after the drugmaker showed how demand for its hot-selling diabetes and obesity treatments is swelling its profits. Honeywell fell 5.6% after announcing it will split into three independent, publicly traded companies, following in the footsteps of other conglomerates such as General Electric. The North Carolina company, one of the few US conglomerates still in existence, expects to complete the spin-off of its automation and aerospace technologies businesses sometime in late 2026.
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