U.S. markets found their footing Thursday morning, with the Dow Jones industrial average climbing roughly 400 points as investors digested better-than-expected earnings from a major consulting firm and a mixed bag of economic data.
The Dow traded up 0.84% to 48,289.58, while the NASDAQ outpaced its peers with a 1.53% jump to 23,040.25. The S&P 500 split the difference, gaining 1.09% to 6,794.36.
Sector Performance Shows Consumer Strength
Consumer discretionary shares paced Thursday's gains, climbing 1.6% as investors rotated into consumer-facing businesses. On the flip side, energy stocks dragged, falling 0.8% as the sector continued to face headwinds.
Accenture Delivers Solid Quarter
Accenture (ACN) provided the morning's headline-grabbing earnings report, posting first-quarter 2026 results that topped Wall Street's expectations. The consulting giant reported quarterly earnings of $3.94 per share, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $3.75. Revenue came in at $18.700 billion, slightly ahead of the $18.523 billion analysts were expecting.
Notable Stock Movers
Several individual stocks experienced wild swings Thursday. Athira Pharma Inc (ATHA) shares rocketed 88% to $7.76 after announcing an agreement to acquire the rights for development and commercialization of lasofoxifene.
Sable Offshore Corp (SOC) surged 58% to $8.36, while FuelCell Energy Inc (FCEL) climbed 32% to $10.39 following better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results.
On the downside, Mega Fortune Co Ltd (MGRT) plunged 59% to $5.34. Pyxis Oncology Inc (PYXS) shares tumbled 54% to $1.56 after the company announced preliminary data from its ongoing Phase 1 clinical studies evaluating micvotabart pelidotin.
Actelis Networks Inc (ASNS) dropped 45% to $0.60 following news that it priced a $5 million public offering of 6.25 million shares or pre-funded warrants with 6.25 million five-year warrants at $0.80.
Commodities Mixed
In commodity markets, oil traded up 1% to $56.48 while gold slipped 0.2% to $4,364.50. Silver fell 1.1% to $66.160, though copper managed a modest 0.1% gain to $5.4370.
Global Markets
European shares closed higher across the board. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 0.5%, while Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 0.7%. London's FTSE 100 gained 0.1%, Germany's DAX 40 climbed 0.5%, and France's CAC 40 added 0.4%.
Asian markets ended Thursday's session mixed. Japan's Nikkei fell 1.03%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.12%. China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.16%, and India's BSE Sensex dipped 0.09%.
Economic Data Tells a Complex Story
The economic calendar delivered several notable data points. The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index declined 8.5 points to a reading of -10.2 in December, compared to -1.7 in November and missing market estimates of -3.1.
On the labor front, U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 13,000 from the previous week to 224,000 in the week ending December 13, suggesting continued strength in the employment picture.
Perhaps most encouraging, the annual inflation rate fell to 2.7% in December, marking the lowest level since July. That came in well below market estimates of 3.1% and represented a notable decline from September's 3% reading.