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Key Takeaways
- The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, as stocks struggled to recover from the prior day’s sell-off despite upbeat data on economic growth.
- Frozen potato distributor Lamb Weston reported an unexpected quarterly loss, citing weak international demand, and its shares tumbled.
- Darden Restaurants shares surged as sales growth from its LongHorn Steakhouse chain helped drive strong quarterly results.
Major U.S. equities indexes finished Thursday little changed after a sharp sell-off a day earlier.
Although investors continued to digest indications that the Federal Reserve plans a more muted path for interest-rate cuts in 2025, a positive update to estimated gross domestic product growth in the third quarter demonstrated the resilience of the U.S. economy.
After trading higher for most of the session, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite saw their rebound attempts lose steam in the afternoon, with both indexes finishing down 0.1%. The Dow managed a gain of less than 0.1%, ending a streak of 10 straight down days.
Shares of Lamb Weston (LW) plunged 20%, more than any other S&P 500 stock on Thursday, after the provider of frozen fries and other potato products reported an unanticipated loss for its fiscal second quarter. The Idaho-based company also lowered its full-year outlook and announced the appointment of a new CEO,
Micron Technology (MU) provided lower-than-expected sales guidance for the current quarter, and its shares tumbled 16%. The chipmaker cited soft demand in consumer-oriented markets, pointing to the auto and industrial sector as well as an underwhelming PC replacement cycle. Bank of America analysts downgraded Micron stock to “neutral” from “buy” and lowered their price target, noting the company faces pricing pressure in the memory chip market.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) shares fell 11% following mixed results from a Phase 2 clinical trial of a treatment for lumbosacral radiculopathy, a condition causing leg and back pain. The biotechnology company said that, although the drug met its primary endpoint of reducing pain, the placebo used in the study showed similar results.
Darden Restaurants (DRI) stock skyrocketed on Thursday, leading the S&P 500 higher with a surge of nearly 15%. The parent company of Olive Garden and other restaurant chains posted better-than-expected sales and adjusted profits for its fiscal second quarter, boosted by strong same-restaurant sales growth from its LongHorn Steakhouse business. Darden also lifted its full-year revenue outlook.
A beat-and-raise quarter also helped lift shares of Accenture (ACN), which jumped 7.1% after the professional services and consulting firm topped revenue and net income forecasts and increased its full-year sales outlook. Year-over-year growth in artificial intelligence bookings contributed to Accenture’s successful quarter.
Shares of energy equipment maker GE Vernova (GEV) advanced 4.9%. Several market observers highlighted the strong performance of GE Vernova stock since its spin-off from General Electric earlier this year, noting its potential to benefit from increasing demand for clean energy, especially from AI data centers. Last week, GE Vernova declared a dividend, announced a stock buyback plan, and raised its full-year sales forecast.
