U.S. stock markets closed mixed on Thursday after a choppy session. Market participants waited for the key labor market data of January to be released on Friday. Moreover, strong fourth-quarter 2024 earnings results boosted investors’ confidence. Investors also assessed a series of mixed economic data. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite ended in positive territory while the Dow finished in negative zone.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.3% or 125.65 points to close at 44,747.63 after a choppy session. At intraday high, the blue-chip index was up more than 93 points. Notably, 15 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory while 15 in negative zone. 

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 19,791.99 advancing 0.5% or nearly 100 points due to mixed performance by technology behemoths. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to finish at 6,083.57. Eight out of 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in positive territory while three in negative zone. 

The Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) advanced 0.8%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR tumbled 1.8%. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 1.7% to 15.50. A total of 13.57 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 14.95 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.05-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.12-to-1 ratio favored declining issues.

Fourth-Quarter Earnings Results

Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY Quick QuoteLLY - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share of $5.32, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.03 per share. Earnings rose 114% year over year. Revenues of $13.53 billion rose 45% year over year, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13.47 billion.

Philip Morris International Inc.’s (PM Quick QuotePM - Free Report) fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.55, which increased 14% year over year. Excluding currency effects, the adjusted EPS jumped 9.6%. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.51.

Net revenues of $9,706 million increased 7.3% on a reported basis and on an organic basis (excluding currency movements and acquisitions). Revenues came ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9,362.4 million.

XPO Inc. (XPO Quick QuoteXPO - Free Report) came out with quarterly adjusted earnings of $0.89 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.62 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.77 per share a year ago. The company posted revenues of $1.92 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.76%.

Consequently, shares of Eli Lilly, Philip Morris and XPO rallied 3.4%, 11% and 7.8%, respectively. Eli Lilly and Philip Morris currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Economic Data

The Department of Labor reported that initial claims increased by 11,000 to 219,000 for the week ended Feb 1, higher than the consensus estimate of 214,000. Previous week’s data was revised marginally upward to 208,000 from 207,000 reported earlier. 

Continuing claims (those who have already received government aids and reported a week behind) increased 36,000 to 1.886 million for the week ended Jan 25. The previous week's level was revised downward by 8,000 to 1,850,000 from 1,858,000 reported earlier. 

The Department of Labor reported that the nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 1.2% in fourth-quarter 2024, missing the consensus estimate of 1.4%. The metric for third-quarter 2024 was revised upward to 2.3% from 2.2% reported earlier.

Unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector increased 3.0% in the fourth quarter of 2024. The metric for third-quarter 2024 was revised downward to 0.5% from 0.8% reported earlier.