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Stock Market News Today: S&P 500 Rises Led By Magnificent 7 Stocks

Eric Bleeker

Published: October 8, 2024 12:38 pm

Last Updated: October 8, 2024 12:43 pm

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Hurricane Milton Could Cause $175 Billion in Damages

12:39 pm

Early estimates for Hurricane Milton’s potential damage are in, and they’re a whopper. Jeffries put out an estimate today that the Hurricane could cause up to $175 billion in damages.

The researcher has a base case of closer to $50 billion but notes 1-in-100-year events can cause up to the $175 billion figure. Milton currently has 145 mile-per-hour sustained winds and is a Category 4 hurricane. It’s expected to make landfall tomorrow evening near Tampa, Florida.

As of 12:15 p.m. ET, the S&P 500 (INDEXSP: .INX) was up .71%. Let’s take a look at some of the major stories in the stock market today.

• Magnificent 7 Stocks Rallying: NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA) is up 3.5% today, which leads Magnificent 7 stocks. However, other mega-cap stocks like Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) are also up more than 1% today. In general, its been a good day for the Magnificent 7.
• Tech Stocks Leading Performance: The top performers in the S&P 500 are Palo Alto Networks (Nasdaq: PANW), which is up 5.5%, and Palantir (NYSE: PLTR), which is up 4.89%.
• Non-Tech Stocks Having a Good Day: Some non-tech stocks in the S&P 500 that are having a good day include Canival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NYSE: NCLH). The cruise stocks are up 4.83% and 4.16%, respectively. An analyst upgrade is pushing share prices higher across the cruise industry even while Hurricane Milton raises the prospects of more disruptions in the space.

Not A Good Day for All Stocks

While the S&P 500 is generally having a good day, it has been a struggle for some stocks. Energy stocks are struggling as the price of crude oil has dropped 3% during today’s trading. Notable losers include:

• Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC): Down 7.62%
• Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO): Down 4.85%

Materials stocks are also feeling the pinch today with Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) down 4.96% and Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) down 4.28%. One of the biggest losers outside energy and materials is Super Micro Computer (Nasdaq: SMCI), which is down 5.48%. The company is shedding some gains from yesterday when its stock surged following the announcement it had shipped more AI chips than expected last quarter.

Gambling Stocks Down 

One other sector in the S&P 500 that’s struggling today is gambling stocks. MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM) is down 3.09% while Caesars Entertainment (Nasdaq: CZR) dropped 2.76%. Doubts about China’s fiscal stimulus are likely the primary reason gambling stocks are struggling.

While Chinese stocks aren’t part of the S&P 500, they are the biggest market news of the day with many Chinese ETFs dropping more than 10%. The drop in Chinese equities started after a press conference in China meant to address stimulus measures included few specifics on how the Government plans to boost consumer spending and overall economic activity.