US stocks rose into the green at the opening bell on Thursday as investors assessed the latest earnings and looked ahead to Friday's inflation reading to guide rate-cut bets, already dampened by a strong January jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) moved up by roughly 0.5%, after the blue-chip benchmark snapped a three-day win streak on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) both gained roughly 0.3% as the indexes move on from a choppy session that saw the major stock indexes end little changed.

The mixed picture comes as investors scrutinize incoming earnings closely for clues to the sectors vulnerable to AI disruption, which spurred the recent meltdown in software stocks. Cisco Systems (CSCO) stock fell over 7% at the open as its gloomy profit outlook overshadowed a rise in sales amid Big Tech's AI buildout. The networking giant expects margins to be squeezed by memory costs, amid a shortage fueled by that same AI datacenter spending.

Meanwhile, attention is starting to turn to Friday’s Consumer Price Index report. A softer reading will build hopes that price pressures are easing while economic growth remains intact.

Before then, the weekly reading on jobless claims — which showed a smaller decline than expected — came in focus after nonfarm-payrolls data showed the US economy added twice as many jobs as anticipated in January. The strength in hiring complicates expectations for Fed policy. A resilient labor market, paired with sticky inflation, is seen as reducing the likelihood of near-term interest-rate cuts — a key driver of recent equity gains.

Elsewhere on the earnings front, McDonald’s (MCD) shares nudged higher after the burger giant's earnings beat. Looking ahead, Coinbase (COIN), Applied Materials (AMAT), and Rivian (RIVN) are highlights on Thursday's docket, all due after the market close.

US stocks rose in the first minutes of trading on Thursday as investors digested the latest string of earnings reports and looked ahead to Friday's inflation reading as the next major signpost for rate-cut bets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) picked up roughly 0.5% as trading began, after the blue-chip benchmark snapped a three-day win streak on Wednesday. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) both rose around 0.3%.

Thursday's weekly reading on jobless claims — which showed a smaller decline than expected — offered another picture of the labor market after nonfarm-payrolls data showed the US economy added twice as many jobs as anticipated in January.

On the corporate calendar, earnings from Coinbase (COIN), Applied Materials (AMAT), and Rivian (RIVN) are due after Thursday's closing bell.

The US saw 227,000 initial jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 7, exceeding expectations and marking a decrease from the previous week's 232,000 initial claims, according to data released Thursday by the Department of Labor.

Economists had expected 223,000 claims for unemployment benefits, according to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Continuing claims for the week came in at 1.86 million, also exceeding economists' estimates of 1.85 million and marking an increase over the previous week's 1.84 million continuing claims.

The Labor Department data comes after investors received a stronger-than-expected read on payroll additions in January.

Data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed 130,000 jobs added in January, compared to estimates of 65,000 jobs. However, 2025 revisions knocked 400,000 job additions off the year's total, bringing the monthly average of payroll additions to roughly 15,000 per month.

European stocks broadly gained on Thursday as earnings results from Siemens, EssilorLuxxotica, and others lifted sentiment.

Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) rose 1.3%. The index was lifted by a 6% increase in Siemens stock (SIE.DE) after the industrial company raised its 2026 earnings guidance due to strong artificial intelligence demand.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 (^STOXX) advanced another 0.3% after hitting a record high on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the CAC 40 (^FCHI) in Paris climbed 1%. Shares of component EssilorLuxxotica (EL.PA), the maker of Ray-Ban and Oakley sunglasses, jumped more than 6% after the company sounded bullish on revenue growth from smart glasses in its earnings report. EssilorLuxxotica expanded its partnership with Meta (META) to produce the AI glasses.

US healthcare company Baxter's (BAX) stock sank 14% before the bell on Thursday following the release of its fourth quarter earnings, forecasting annual profit below Wall Street estimates. The company cited persistent problems from hurricane-related issues at one of its manufacturing plants.

Reuters reports:

Baxter ‌expects 2026 adjusted profit between $1.85 and $2.05 per share, ‌well ​below ​analysts' ​average expectation ‌of $2.25 per share, ​according ​to data compiled ​by ‌LSEG.

Read more here.

Magnum Ice Cream's (MICC) stock fell 12% during premarket hours on Thursday. The group, which was recently spun off from Unilever (UL) and makes popular ice creams such as Ben & Jerry's and Cornetto, reported a 3% decline in sales for its fourth quarter earnings.

The FT reports:

Jefferies analyst David Hayes said the result would “reignite worries” on the structural risks of GLP-1 drugs for the ice cream category: “This miss will not help that anxiety, we think.”

Magnum shares sank more than 14 per cent in Amsterdam after the company reported its first earnings since its demerger in December, when it listed with a valuation of €7.8bn on Euronext Amsterdam. The company’s market value was cut to €8.6bn following Thursday’s sell-off.

Ahead of its spin-off, Magnum faced scrutiny from investors on how exposed a pure-play ice cream company would be to the growing use of weight-loss drugs.

Chief executive Peter ter Kulve played down the risk, pointing to low-calorie and high-protein options in the portfolio, as well as portion-control versions of brands, such as Magnum Bonbons.

Read more here.

Sanofi (SNY) stock fell 6% before the bell on Thursday after the French pharmaceutical company ousted its CEO, Paul Hudson, thanking him Thursday for \\"valuable contributions\\" but without giving any reason for his surprise exit.

Micron (MU) stock rose 3% during premarket hours on Thursday after its CEO, brushed off concerns on Wednesday about competition growing in the memory chip space. Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) also claimed an early lead in the race to supply AI chips to Nvidia (NVDA). Samsung Electronics is a key competitor of Micron.

AppLovin (APP) shares fell 5% before the bell today following the group's fourth-quarter earnings release on Wednesday, which beat Wall Street estimates. The advertising company's shares have fallen almost 30% over the past month.

Some smaller pharmaceutical companies not targeted by President Trump for deals to lower their US drug pricing are looking to craft their own agreements with his administration, industry sources told Reuters. The moves are a bid to avoid potentially onerous tariffs and new price-setting schemes.

Reuters reports:

Two ‌lobbyists and other industry sources say that companies have begun reaching out to contacts at the White House and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to ‌try to create their own deals. They did not disclose the names of those companies.

Companies are concerned in particular about new pilot programs that could set prices for Medicare drugs in large parts of the country, industry sources said. Those programs would require manufacturer rebates for drugs paid for by the Medicare health plan for millions of Americans age 65 and over if US prices exceed international levels.

So far, 16 ‌of the largest drugmakers including Pfizer (PFE) and Eli Lilly (LLY) have ⁠already struck deals with the government after receiving directive letters from the Trump administration instructing them to cut prices. But many companies, including around half of those represented by the largest pharmaceutical lobby group, PhRMA, have not yet been contacted.

... Some smaller companies have formed their own industry lobby group called the Midsized Biotech Alliance of ​America ​in part to advocate against the new price-setting schemes. The 11 companies that have joined that organization ​include Alkermes (ALKS), BioMarin (BMRN), Incyte (INCY) and Alnylam (ALNY).

“There's a large group of companies ‌that don't have a deal, and what are they left with?” Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson told reporters at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco in January.

Read more here.

Cisco (CSCO) stock fell 7% during premarket hours on Thursday after the networking company issued guidance below Wall Street forecasts.

For the full year, Cisco raised its guidance for earnings per share to $3.00 to $3.08 on revenue of $61.2 billion to $61.7 billion. However, the Street was looking for earnings guidance of $3.12 on revenue of $62.1 billion.

In Cisco's second quarter, the company reported earnings per share of $0.80, compared to Wall Street analyst estimates of $0.74 per share, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Revenue rose 10% year over year to $15.3 billion, compared to estimates of $15.1 billion.

\\"We see strong, broad-based demand for our technology solutions and remain focused on capturing the significant opportunities we see ahead,\\" Cisco CFO Mark Patterson said.

Reuters reports:

A surge in data center investments, fueled by technology companies' need ‌for AI ⁠computing infrastructure, has driven strong demand for Cisco's core ⁠networking products, such as switches and routers.

Enterprises are expected to ensure ​their campus ​networks are \\"AI ​ready\\" as infrastructure ‌readiness will be crucial for AI-era workloads and modernization needs across switching, wireless and IoT systems.

Read more here.

Bloomberg reports:

Oil climbed for a second day as traders focused on tensions between the US and Iran that have overshadowed signs of swelling supplies.

Brent (BZ=F) rose toward $70 a barrel, after gaining almost 1% on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) near $65. While US President Donald Trump signaled his goal was to reach a nuclear deal with Tehran — commenting after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — traders remain concerned about the potential for military strikes and risks to supply.

Crude has gained every week this year, with a single exception, as geopolitical risks drove futures higher. The US intervened in Venezuela in January, then pivoted to Iran after a wave of protests challenged the Islamic Republic’s leadership. Still, banks maintain there’s abundant supply, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. saying that the surplus was appearing, but it was mainly doing so in locations that are less significant for price-setting.

US crude inventories jumped 8.5 million barrels last week to the highest since June, according to the Energy Information Administration. Later Thursday, the International Energy Agency, the Paris-based adviser to major economies, is due to issue its monthly outlook that may again flag a glut.

Read more here.

Bloomberg reports:

Gold (GC=F) slipped after robust US jobs data reduced expectations the Federal Reserve will move quickly to cut interest rates.

Bullion retreated as much as 0.6% on Thursday, after adding 1.2% in the previous session. US payrolls rose by the most in more than a year and the unemployment rate fell unexpectedly in January, suggesting the American labor market continued to stabilize at the start of 2026.

The data may reinforce Fed officials’ inclination to keep interest rates on hold for now, with many traders appearing to push out their timeline for the next rate cut to July from June. Lower interest rates are a tailwind for precious metals, which don’t pay interest.

Despite its early losses on Thursday, gold continued to hold above $5,000 an ounce and has clawed back around half of the losses sustained during a historic rout at the turn of the month. The precious metal surged to a record high above $5,595 an ounce in late January before a wave of speculative buying saw the rally get overheated. Bullion then plunged about 13% in two sessions.

Read more here.