Wall Street stock indexes gain, Delta forecast boosts sentiment

Wall Street indexes rose on Thursday, brushing off President Donald Trump's latest tariff salvo, while investors were encouraged by an upbeat forecast from Delta Air Lines.

Delta DAL jumped 12.5% after the carrier forecast third-quarter and full-year profits above Wall Street estimates.

Investors celebrated across the sector with United Airlines UAL rising 16% and American Airlines AAL climbing 14%.

The Dow Transportation index DJT, widely considered an economic barometer, jumped more than 3%, hitting its highest level since late February.

Initial jobless claims for the week of July 5 came in at 227,000, below consensus of 235,000, as per a Reuters poll. The number marked a seven-week low although data around holidays such as last week's July Fourth break can often be volatile.

The Delta update and the "pretty tame" jobless claims were helping to reassure investors, according to Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.

"Collectively that helped to re-insert the risk on mode that was in full bloom yesterday and carried over to today," he said.

While tariffs may stoke inflation and unemployment, investors appear "increasingly desensitized" to these concerns.

"At the moment, investors are looking through or not accounting for that threat and won't likely until hard evidence presents itself," said Luschini.

At 2:12 p.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJI rose 289.90 points, or 0.65%, to 44,749.19, the S&P 500 SPX gained 24.45 points, or 0.39%, to 6,287.71 and the Nasdaq Composite IXIC gained 34.93 points, or 0.17%, to 20,646.35.

Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were advancing, with communication services S5TELS falling and technology S5INFT barely lower.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq IXIC, which had scored a record closing high on Wednesday, was gaining slightly as Nvidia NVDA returned to its $4 trillion valuation, reached for the first time on Wednesday.

The chip company's rally was offset by declines in shares of Meta META, Netflix NFLX and Microsoft MSFT. Tesla TSLA jumped 3% after the electric vehicle maker announced that its annual shareholder meeting would be in November. A group of investors had urged it to set a date, citing legal obligations.

Last week's robust labor market report had sent Wall Street's major indexes to record highs, a rebound from April's sharp sell-off following "Liberation Day" tariff announcements.

Trump's latest announcements included a new 50% tariff on copper to start on August 1 and a threat of 50% tariff on exports of goods from Brazil to the U.S. He also issued tariff notices to other trading partners.

Yet, several countries are still waiting for official word from the White House, with investors closely monitoring the evolving trade negotiations.

The minutes from the Federal Reserve's June meeting, released on Wednesday revealed that most policymakers anticipate rate cuts this year, as they view the inflationary impact of tariffs as likely to be "temporary or modest."

While most investors believe a July rate cut is off the table, the odds of a September cut of 25 basis points have climbed to 64%, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

It may take until late this year - or even into 2026 - before the true impact of rising import tariffs on inflation comes into focus, St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said, highlighting why Fed officials are cautious about rate cuts.

Among other stocks, WK Kellogg KLG jumped 30.6%, on track for its biggest daily move following reports that Italian candy maker Ferrero was nearing a deal to buy the cereal maker.

Conagra Brands CAG fell about 3% after it forecast annual profit below Wall Street expectations, citing higher tariff-related costs for products, including its Hunt's ketchup, due to levies on imports from China and on metals.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.19-to-1 ratio on the NYSE where there were 282 new highs and 30 new lows.

On the Nasdaq, 2,643 stocks rose and 1,712 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.54-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 28 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 84 new highs and 28 new lows.