S&P 500 climbs to a new record while the Dow nearly falls flat

4:15pm: Meme stocks take a whacking

The Dow ended up 19 points at 34,466, giving up most of its morning gains. The Nasdaq gained 109 points, 0.8%, to 14,020, and the S&P 500 increased 20 points, 0.5%, to 4,239, a record.

The meme stocks took a bit of a bath Thursday. GameStop stock lost 27% to $220.67, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC) dropped 13% to $42.80 and Clover Health Investments Corp (NASDAQ:CLOV) tumbled 15% to $14.34.

12:15pm: S&P 500 goes for a record

The Dow was up 108 points, 0.3%, to 34,555 at midday. The Nasdaq added 71 points, 0.5%, to 13,983, and the S&P improved 17 points, 0.4%, to 4,237, which would be a record.

“It will be interesting to see who had ‘stocks up, gold up, dollar down after strong inflation report’ on their bingo cards today, but those are the current moves in global markets, an interesting reflection on how investors perceive the outlook for coming months for both prices and Fed policy,” IG Chief Market Analyst Chris Beauchamp wrote. ”US markets had been hesitant all week, but have found a new lease of life now that the pesky CPI figure is out of the way.”

GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) has found a new CEO in former Amazon Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) executive Matt Furlong, the company announced, but nonetheless, the original meme stock is down nearly 20% to $244.41.

9.40am: Proactive North America headlines:

Lingo Media Corporation (CVE:LM) (OTCMKTS:LMDCF) (FRA:LIMA) subsidiary ELL Technologies to be rebranded as Everybody Loves Languages

Binovi Technologies Corp (CVE:VISN) (OTCQB:BNVIF) seeing success with its vision technology products at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy

Amarillo Gold Corporation (CVE:AGC) (OTCQB:AGCBF) acquires additional exploration concession for its Lavras do Sul Project in Brazil

Playgon Games‘ Inc (CVE:DEAL) (OTCQB:PLGNF) (FRA:7CR) Vegas Lounge live dealer casino draws in thousands of visitors in its first month

Esports Entertainment Group Inc (NASDAQ:GMBL) says its Helix eSports division is partnering with GUNNAR Optiks for gaming glasses marketing

Marvel Discovery Corp (CVE:MARV) (OTCPINK:IMTFF) (FRA:O4T1) acquires additional 274 claims within highly prospective Gander Zone area of Newfoundland

Soma Gold Corp says 1Q revenue topped $9.75M; sets production target date for Nechi says 1Q revenue topped $9.75M; sets production target date for Nechi

Deep-South Resources Inc (CVE:DSM) (OTCMKTS:DSMTF) sees continued success with its 10,000m drill program at Haib copper project

Safe-T Group Ltd (NASDAQ:TASE) (NASDAQ:SFET) subsidiary signs partnership deal to bring its zero-trust network access solution to the Swiss market

GR Silver Mining Ltd (CVE:GRSL) (OTCQB:GRSLF) (FRA:GPE) unveils bonanza silver intercept of up to 10,777 grams per ton at La Colorada vein

Harvest One Cannabis Inc (CVE:HVT) (OTCQB:HRVOF) reaches agreements for US market expansion of its retail distribution footprint with five major National key account partners

Golden Tag Resources Ltd (CVE:GOG) (OTCQB:GTAGF) identifies second bulk tonnage zone over 550 vertical metre extent at its San Diego silver project in Mexico

Nextech AR Solutions Corp (CSE:NTAR) (OTCQB:NEXCF) (NEO:NTAR) (FRA:N29) says it and partner awarded $150,000 to advance educational augmented reality in Ontario

LexaGene Holdings Inc (OTCQB:LXXGF) (CVE:LXG) (FRA:5XS2) says its MiQLab System detected a bacterium 36-times faster than traditional methods

HempFusion Wellness Inc (TSE:CBD.U) (OTCQX:CBDHF) (FRA:8OO) launches Probulin Probiotics products through Ireland’s top pharmacy and retailer

Willow Biosciences Inc (TSE:WLLW) (OTCQX:CANSF) (FRA:3D7) strikes first commercial supply agreement for CBG with UK cosmetics firm Cellular Goods

Stifel GMP lifts target price on Neo Lithium Corp (CVE:NLC) (OTCQX:NTTHF) (FRA:NE2) after significant resource expansion at Argentina project

The Valens Company Company Inc (TSE:VLNS) (OTCQX:VLNCF) (FRA:7LV) joins the Cannabis Council of Canada

Golden Minerals Company (NYSEAMERICAN:AUMN) (TSE:AUMN) says new drill results from Rodeo expansion program show good potential to increase the life of mine

Versus Systems Inc (NASDAQ:VS) (CSE:VS) (FRA:BMVB) to enable Shopify entrepreneurs to promote their products using its prizing technology

Green Battery Minerals Inc (CVE:GEM) (OTCMKTS:GBMIF) (FRA:BR2) says gap environmental analysis on Berkwood graphite project successfully completed

African Gold Group Inc (CVE:AGG) (OTCMKTS:AGGFF) (FRA:3A61)  updates on its corporate social responsibility projects in Mali in Q1 2021

Vuzix Corporation (NASDAQ:VUZI) (FRA:V7XN) says smart glasses expand AR surgical product presence to support shoulder, knee and spine surgeries

NEO Battery Materials Ltd (CVE:NBM) (OTCMKTS:NBMFF) (FRA:1BC) appoints James Suk and Dr Andrew Fraser as advisors as it bids to access non-dilutive government funding in Canada

Fobi AI Inc (CVE:FOBI) (OTCQB:FOBIF) inks licensing deal with CareSpace to utilize Wallet Pass in helping college campuses verify vaccinations

Plurilock Security Inc (CVE:PLUR) (OTCQB:PLCKF) wins add-on order from a California state agency

Orgenesis Inc (NASDAQ:ORGS) (FRA:45O) says enrollment is underway for a Phase 2 rotator cuff repair study of its Tissue Genesis Icellator

9.37am: Wall Street starts in the green

The main indices on Wall Street were in the green in early trading on Thursday following US inflation and jobs data.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.57% at 34,644 while the S&P 500 climbed 0.38% to 4,235 and the Nasdaq rose 0.18% to 13,937.

The higher start followed higher than expected US inflation, with the consumer price index showing a gain of 5% in May, up from the 4.7% forecast and the 4.2% seen in April. This is the highest level since a 5.4% increase in August 2008.

Core inflation – excluding food and energy – jumped from 3% to 3.8%, the highest level since June 1992. Used cars and trucks were again a big contributor to the increase, up 7.3%.

Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims have fallen, albeit not by as much as expected.

The number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits fell to 376,000 last week, compared to 385,000 the previous week and a forecast of 370,000.

7:50am: Wall Street to open mixed

Wall Street is set for a cautious open ahead of the latest US inflation figures.

The consumer price index is expected to show an annualised rise of 4.7%, up from 4.2% in April and the biggest year-on-year increase since September 2008.

Ahead of the figures the Dow Jones Industrial Average is forecast to open 0.21% or 74 points higher, while the S&P 500 is expected to edge up 0.07% and the Nasdaq Composite is indicated 0.22% lower.

That could all change, however, if inflation comes in higher than anticipated, prompting renewed concerns that the Federal Reserve would have to act to curb the growing pricing pressures.

Sophie Griffiths at Oanda said: “A stronger-than-forecast print today could tip the taper talk dial to sooner rather than later, which could bring stocks lower. US futures are pointing to a mixed start on the US open, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq set to underperform its peers.”

Also due are the weekly jobless claims figures, which are expected to show a fall from 385,000 to 370,000.

And ahead of all that comes the latest European Central Bank meeting.

Three things to watch for on Thursday:

• Companies in the earnings diary include pet food retailer Chewy Inc (NYSE:CHWY), power firm FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FCEL) and publishing group John Wiley & Sons Inc (NYSE:JW.A)
• Shares in Reddit darling GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) may draw attention after the video game seller unveiled a new CEO and CFO that it had plucked from Amazon Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) overnight, although many investors will be nervously eyeing an SEC probe into the recent buying frenzy for the shares that the company also disclosed
• Speaking of Amazon, the firm’s may come under focus amid reports it could be facing an investigation by the UK’s competition authorities

Story by ProactiveInvestors