Stock Market Today: Trump Media, Starbucks Shares Up, Peloton Down

Major U.S. stock indexes opened higher Thursday, after a mixed Wednesday that saw investors react to the Federal Reserve's decision to maintain interest rates at their current elevated level.

"Inflation is still too high," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference, "Further progress in bringing it down is not assured and the path forward is uncertain."

Powell appeared to rule out any hike in interest rates in the near future though, which soothed investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 80 points (0.25 percent), but the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 both ended lower.

After plummeting Wednesday, shares in coffee giant Starbucks and Trump Media & Technology Group rose in early trading on Thursday

TMTG, which is owned by former President Donald Trump and uses the ticker symbol DJT, saw its stock go up six percent after a 10 percent decline the previous day. The stock has been all over the place since it debuted in March, often rising or falling on no underlying news.

Also recovering slightly early Thursday was semiconductor maker Advanced Micro Devices. AMD, which is involved in the development of artificial-intelligence chips, saw shares plunge earlier this week after investors were unimpressed with its forecast for the rest of the year. AI leader Nvidia, one of the so-called Magnificent Seven, is scheduled to release earnings on May 22.

Shares in Peloton were up seven percent at markets open before dropping nearly four percent, after the beleaguered exercise-equipment company's CEO Barry McCarthy said he was stepping down. McCarthy also said that Peloton, famous for its eponymous interactive cycling machine, would be slashing its headcount.

Peloton shares have dropped around 90 percent since McCarthy was appointed CEO in 2022.

Investors were also anticipating another slew of earnings reports on Thursday. Shell kicked proceedings off early Wednesday, showcasing adjusted earnings of more than $7.7 billion. Shares in the company were up by more than one percent in London.

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Shell CEO Wael Sawan said: "Shell delivered another quarter of strong operational and financial performance, demonstrating our continued focus on delivering more value with less emissions" in a press release accompanying the report.

The company also announced the commencement of a $3.5 billion share buyback scheme which it expects to be completed by the second quarter of 2024.

Share buyback schemes tend to raise the price of a stock buy reducing the overall availability of company shares on the market.

"We continue to deliver on our Capital Markets Day targets, giving us the confidence to commence another $3.5 billion buyback program for the next three months," said Sawan.

Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company behind weight-loss and diabetes treatment drug Ozempic also announced strong results for the first quarter of the year.

It reported a sales increase of 22 percent and a 27 percent increase in operating profit.

CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen attributed the firm's growth to "increased demand for our GLP-1-based diabetes and obesity treatments."

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Despite the good news, Novo Nordisk shares were down nearly three percent in pre-market, amid rising competition from rivals like Eli Lilly.

Investors can expect quarterly earnings reports from Apple and crypto platform Coinbase after the bell today.

Berkshire Hathaway and AMC are scheduled to publish earnings reports come Friday, when investors will also be watching for the latest monthly unemployment and jobs data.

Update, 5/2/24, 10:02 a.m. ET: This article was updated to reflect market moves after the open.

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