Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Stock Market Today: Wall Street Drifts as Gains for Fashion Brands Help Offset Qualcomm's Slide
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 months ago on
February 6, 2025

Trader Jonathan Mueller works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (AP/Richard Drew)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NEW YORK — Wall Street is drifting Thursday as gains for fashion brands and cigarette makers help offset drops for Ford Motor and Qualcomm following their latest profit reports.

The S&P 500 was up 0.1% in morning trading following healthy gains for stock markets across much of Europe and Asia. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 108 points, or 0.2%, as of 10:45 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.

Tapestry, the company behind the Coach and Kate Spade brands, helped lead the market and jumped 13.9%. It reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, thanks in part to attracting new, younger customers. Tapestry also raised its forecast for revenue and profit growth this fiscal year.

Philip Morris International, which sells Marlboro cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products around the world, was one of the strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500 and rose 9.1% after reporting a better profit than expected. It also gave financial forecasts that topped expectations, and analysts pointed in particular to strength for its Zyn nicotine pouches.

They helped offset a 6.3% drop for Ford Motor, which fell even though the automaker delivered a stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Investors focused instead on Ford’s financial forecasts for 2025, which the company said incorporates “headwinds related to market factors.”

The company gave a forecasted range for how much cash it will generate this year whose midpoint fell below analysts’ expectations, for example.

Qualcomm Falls 4.9%

Qualcomm, meanwhile, weighed on the tech industry after falling 4.9%. The company, whose products help power smartphones and other devices, reported profit for the latest quarter that topped analysts’ forecasts, and analysts called the performance solid. But they also said expectations were high, and worries are rising about the wireless chip industry broadly.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady after a report said more U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week than expected, though the number remains low compared with history. A more comprehensive report will arrive on Friday, showing how many jobs U.S. employers added during the month of January.

The U.S. economy has remained much more solid than critics feared, but pressure is rising in part because of the threat of potential tariffs coming from President Donald Trump..

After rocking financial markets around the world at the start of this week, worries about a potentially punishing global trade war have eased a bit after Trump gave 30-day reprieves for tariffs on both Mexico and Canada. That bolstered hopes that Trump sees tariffs as merely a tool for negotiation, rather than as a long-term policy.

While discussing Ford Motor’s earnings and financial forecasts, CEO Jim Farley said his company can manage a “few weeks” of tariffs of 25% on Canadian and Mexican imports. But if they’re protracted, they would have “a huge impact on our industry,” resulting in higher prices for customers, losses of U.S. jobs and billions of dollars of industry profits wiped out.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, another company reliant on spending by consumers around the world, Ralph Lauren, leaped 14% after reporting stronger profit and revenue than expected. Growth was particularly strong in China, where the company recently opened stores in Hong Kong and Beijing.

Eli Lilly Rallied While Honeywell Fell

Eli Lilly rallied 3% after the drugmaker showed how demand for its hot-selling diabetes and obesity treatments is swelling its profits.

Honeywell fell 6.2% after announcing it will split into three independent, publicly-traded companies, following in the footsteps of other conglomerates such as General Electric.

The North Carolina company, one of the few U.S. conglomerates still in existence, expects to complete the spin-off of its automation and aerospace technologies businesses sometime in late 2026.

In stock markets abroad, London’s FTSE 100 jumped 1.4% after the Bank of England cut its main interest rate as it slashed its forecast for economic growth. The British economy has barely grown over the past six months, and the Bank of England halved its growth projection for the British economy this year to 0.75%.

Stock indexes also rose 1.3% in Paris, 1.4% in Hong Kong and 0.6% in Tokyo.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury was holding at 4.43%, where it was late Wednesday.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Under Pressure From Trump, UC Abandons ‘Diversity Statement’ Requirement for Faculty

DON'T MISS

City of Clovis Celebrates Opening of New Letterman Dog Park

DON'T MISS

Three Killed, 15 Injured in a Shooting at a Park in New Mexico’s Las Cruces

DON'T MISS

Pope Francis to Be Released From Hospital Sunday After 5 Weeks Fighting Pneumonia

DON'T MISS

3 People Killed in Russian Attacks on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Despite Limited Truce

DON'T MISS

Israel Fires on Lebanon After Rocket Attack in Largest Clash Since Truce With Hezbollah

DON'T MISS

George Foreman, the Heavyweight Who Became a Beloved Champion, Dies at 76

DON'T MISS

America Is Aggravating the World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis

DON'T MISS

Madera Drama Teacher Sees the Arts as a Gateway to Improving Literacy Skills

DON'T MISS

Researchers Say US Government Tried to Erase Sexual Orientation From Findings

UP NEXT

City of Clovis Celebrates Opening of New Letterman Dog Park

UP NEXT

Three Killed, 15 Injured in a Shooting at a Park in New Mexico’s Las Cruces

UP NEXT

Pope Francis to Be Released From Hospital Sunday After 5 Weeks Fighting Pneumonia

UP NEXT

3 People Killed in Russian Attacks on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Despite Limited Truce

UP NEXT

Israel Fires on Lebanon After Rocket Attack in Largest Clash Since Truce With Hezbollah

UP NEXT

George Foreman, the Heavyweight Who Became a Beloved Champion, Dies at 76

UP NEXT

America Is Aggravating the World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis

UP NEXT

Madera Drama Teacher Sees the Arts as a Gateway to Improving Literacy Skills

UP NEXT

Researchers Say US Government Tried to Erase Sexual Orientation From Findings

UP NEXT

As Trump Broadens Crackdown, Focus Expands to Legal Immigrants and Tourists

Pope Francis to Be Released From Hospital Sunday After 5 Weeks Fighting Pneumonia

22 hours ago

3 People Killed in Russian Attacks on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Despite Limited Truce

1 day ago

Israel Fires on Lebanon After Rocket Attack in Largest Clash Since Truce With Hezbollah

1 day ago

George Foreman, the Heavyweight Who Became a Beloved Champion, Dies at 76

1 day ago

America Is Aggravating the World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis

1 day ago

Madera Drama Teacher Sees the Arts as a Gateway to Improving Literacy Skills

1 day ago

Researchers Say US Government Tried to Erase Sexual Orientation From Findings

2 days ago

As Trump Broadens Crackdown, Focus Expands to Legal Immigrants and Tourists

2 days ago

Trump Administration Fires Nearly Entire Civil Rights Branch of Homeland Security

2 days ago

Pro-Palestinian Group Sues UCLA Over Handling of Demonstrations

2 days ago

Under Pressure From Trump, UC Abandons ‘Diversity Statement’ Requirement for Faculty

This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. It’s likely that most Californians have never h...

3 hours ago

3 hours ago

Under Pressure From Trump, UC Abandons ‘Diversity Statement’ Requirement for Faculty

17 hours ago

City of Clovis Celebrates Opening of New Letterman Dog Park

22 hours ago

Three Killed, 15 Injured in a Shooting at a Park in New Mexico’s Las Cruces

22 hours ago

Pope Francis to Be Released From Hospital Sunday After 5 Weeks Fighting Pneumonia

1 day ago

3 People Killed in Russian Attacks on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Despite Limited Truce

1 day ago

Israel Fires on Lebanon After Rocket Attack in Largest Clash Since Truce With Hezbollah

1 day ago

George Foreman, the Heavyweight Who Became a Beloved Champion, Dies at 76

1 day ago

America Is Aggravating the World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend