Ulta Beauty Surges as Berkshire Divulges Stake

Major U.S. equities indexes pushed higher as positive economic news added steam to the recovery that has seen stocks bounce back from an early-August selloff.

The S&P 500 gained 1.6% on Thursday, while the Dow was up 1.4%. The Nasdaq jumped 2.3%, boosted by strength from the technology sector. 

The daily gains came as a new government report showed a greater-than-expected increase in retail spending in July, demonstrating the resilience of U.S. consumers in the face of economic headwinds. Meanwhile, strong earnings results from Walmart (WMT) provided additional confirmation that consumers have not stopped shopping, even if they may be seeking discounts in response to high inflation.

Shares of Ulta Beauty (ULTA) notched the biggest daily gain of any S&P 500 stock, soaring 11.2%. A regulatory filing from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) showed the legendary firm has snapped up a stake in the cosmetics retailer. Berkshire also took a position in electronics company Heico (HEI), whose shares were up 1.1% on Thursday.

After posting the heaviest losses in the S&P 500 on Monday and Wednesday, Albemarle (ALB) shares rebounded on Thursday, gaining 8.6%. The lithium producer has come under pressure as prices of the metal sputter, but Albemarle remains in a good position to benefit from an eventual recovery in the lithium market, and the stock’s dividend yield of over 2% may be attractive to some investors.

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shares added 8.6%, continuing to mount a recovery from a 20% decline suffered last week when the server manufacturer reported lower-than-expected quarterly profits and announced a 10-for-1 stock split. Following Thursday’s gains, Supermicro stock has fully rebounded from the post-earnings plunge.

Paramount Global (PARA) shares jumped 7.1% following multiple reports that media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. is set to make a bid for the entertainment giant. Bronfman’s potential offer to buy Paramount and parent company National Amusements adds a new wrinkle to the story after months of negotiations with a variety of suitors for the film and TV business. Last month, Paramount agreed to the terms of a merger with production company Skydance Media after prolonged talks.

Shares of Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO), the financial analytics firm known for its credit scores, receded from an all-time high, tumbling 4.2% to log the weakest performance of any stock in the S&P 500 on Thursday. The loss followed filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosing that two key FICO executives have sold shares in the company. Investors often interpret sales by insiders as a lack of confidence in the company’s upcoming performance.

MarketAxess (MKTX) shares lost 2.9% on Thursday. The operator of a digital trading platform for fixed-income securities posted mixed results in its quarterly report released last week, topping profit forecasts but missing sales estimates. Diminished trading activity of U.S. high-yield bonds and elevated expenses weighed on the firm’s performance.

Telecom stocks came under pressure after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) fined operator T-Mobile (TMUS) $60 million for its failure to block and disclose unauthorized access to sensitive data. The fine relates to incidents that occurred after T-Mobile, which is majority owned by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom, completed its acquisition of U.S.-based Sprint Corporation. T-Mobile shares slid 1.0%, while shares of rival AT&T (T) fell 2.8%.