Stock futures edge higher after S&P 500 closes above 5,300 for the first time: Live updates

The European Union brought a major investigation for Meta Platforms that will look into alleged breaches of the region’s online content law regarding child safety. In a statement, the European Commission said it was looking into whether Facebook and Instagram “may stimulate behavioural addictions in children, as well as create so-called ‘rabbit-hole effects.'”

Meta shares were down slightly in the premarket.

— Fred Imbert

Baidu reported first-quarter revenue that beat expectations, sending shares of the Chinese tech company up by 2% in the premarket. The company’s top line came in at 31.51 billion yuan, exceeding an LSEG estimate of 31.21 billion yuan.

“Baidu Core’s online marketing revenue remained stable, while the end-to-end optimization of our AI technology stack continued to propel the growth of our AI Cloud revenue during the quarter,” said co-founder and CEO Robin Li in a statement.

European markets opened mixed Thursday as a slew of earnings weighed on a relief rally for global markets following softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index was down 0.3% at 8,416, Germany’s DAX 0.02% lower at 18,864, France’s CAC 0.2% lower at 8,221 and Italy’s FTSE MIB up 0.03% at 35,366.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company said there was no damage to its facilities at its Arizona factory construction site, according to Reuters, following a report of an explosion at the plant.

A worker at TSMC’s Arizona plant was taken to a hospital with serious injuries following an explosion, the Arizona Republic reported earlier, citing authorities.

The Arizona Republic reported that firefighters from multiple departments responded to a hazardous materials call on Wednesday afternoon.

The chipmaker said in a statement that none of its employees or onsite construction workers had reported any injuries, according to Reuters.

— Shreyashi Sanyal, Reuters

Tencent’s Hong Kong-listed shares rose 4.5% after the Chinese tech giant beat analysts’ estimates for revenue and profit in the first quarter.

The company reported slightly better sales in its core gaming business and improved profitability in its advertising and business services division late on Tuesday.

Revenue of 159.5 billion Chinese yuan ($22 billion) in the first quarter topped analysts’ expectations of 158.4 billion yuan. Profit attributable to shareholders came in at 41.9 billion yuan versus expectations of 36.64 billion yuan.

The company’s adjusted net profit grew 62% year on year, the fastest growth since the March quarter of 2021, according to LSEG data.

Markets in Hong Kong resumed trading Thursday after a holiday.  

— Shreyashi Sanyal, Arjun Kharpal

Chinese property stocks rose following a report that the country was considering to buy millions of unsold homes from distressed developers in a bid to prop up its embattled property market.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index climbed over 6%.

Shares of Hong Kong-listed Logan Group gained 11.59% and Longfor Group rose 14.63%. China Vanke climbed 14.78%. Private developer CIFI Holdings jumped 25%.

On Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported that China’s State Council was gathering feedback from government entities and several provinces on local state-owned enterprises being tasked to buy unsold homes at steep discounts using loans offered by the state banks.

—Lee Ying Shan

Japan’s economy contracted at an annualized 2% in the first quarter of 2024, according to official data.

The GDP reading showed a deeper-than-expected contraction in the first quarter compared with a 1.5% contraction expected in a Reuters poll.

The latest data could also likely jeopardize the Bank of Japan’s plans to raise interest rates.

The BOJ held its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 0%-0.1% at its last monetary policy meeting on April 26, and said its monetary policy will depend on future economic conditions.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Wednesday’s market rally lifted the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) to its best day since December.

The ITB jumped 3.7%, posting its best session since Dec. 14 – back when it gained more than 6%. Year to date, the ETF is up more than 10%

Wednesday’s surge in homebuilding stocks occurred as Treasury yields retreated following a cooler-than-expected inflation report. Names tied to the housing sector are especially sensitive to movement in interest rates.

Names within the ITB that saw an especially strong day include D.R. Horton, up nearly 6.5%, and Lennar, up 5.3%. PulteGroup also jumped more than 5%.

–Darla Mercado, Chris Hayes, Ethan Kraft

While earnings consensus revisions remain flat for the U.S. defense sector in the near term, Barclays believes this trend could reverse in the next year or so.

“We expect the debate around future defense budget to be pushed back until early 2025, following the Presidential election, potentially creating a window of opportunity for the defense sector to recover from recent underperformance,” wrote analyst Charlotte Keyworth.

Within the U.S. defense sector, Keyworth prefers General Dynamics and L3Harris Technologies for their discounted multiples and good free cash flow growth.

— Lisa Kailai Han

These are some of the biggest movers in extended trading:

• AST SpaceMobile — Shares rocketed 42% after AST SpaceMobile announced a commercial agreement with AT&T to bring its space-based broadband network direct to everyday cell phones. 
• Chubb — The property and casualty insurer gained 7% after Berkshire Hathaway revealed it has bought nearly 26 million shares of Zurich-based company for a stake worth $6.7 billion. 
• Cisco Systems — Shares jumped nearly 5% after the IT giant reported fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings of 88 cents per share on revenues of $12.70 billion, topping analysts’ estimates for earnings of 82 cents per share on revenues of $12.53 billion, according to LSEG.

For more stocks on the move check out our list here.

— Tanaya Macheel

Stock futures were little changed to begin trading on Wednesday evening.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down by 0.02%, while S&P 500 futures ticked lower by 0.05% and Nasdaq 100 futures inched higher by 0.02%.

In regular trading, all of the major averages closed at record highs.

— Tanaya Macheel