It was a choppy start to Thursday's session, but stocks stabilized by mid-morning. Earnings season continues to drive price action, though market participants are anxious to see the delayed release of the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which is due out tomorrow morning.
At the close, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3% at 46,734, the broader S&P 500 was 0.6% higher at 6,738, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had gained 0.9% to 22,941.
Honeywell (HON) emerged as the best Dow Jones stock today, rising 6.8% after the industrial conglomerate reported higher-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue thanks to strong aerospace sales.
The company also raised its full-year forecast, which includes the impact of its Solstice Advanced Materials spinoff, set to be completed next Thursday, October 30.
HON is also planning to separate its automation and aerospace technologies businesses in the second half of 2026.
"We view the ongoing portfolio optimization favorably as HON creates three reporting segments aligned with automation, positioning the company for sustainable growth," says CFRA Research analyst Jonathan Sakraida, who has a Buy rating on the blue chip stock.
Oil prices climb on new Russian sanctions
Chevron (CVX) was also near the top of the Dow Thursday, gaining 0.6% as West Texas Intermediate oil prices surged more than 5%.
Boosting the commodity was news that the Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft, Russia's two largest oil companies, as negotiations to end the war in Ukraine have stalled.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump canceled an upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, telling reporters at the White House that "it just didn't feel right to me."
"America's new stance is in stark contrast to recent messaging from the White House and took markets by surprise," says Steve Clayton, head of equity funds at Hargreaves Lansdown.
He cautions that only time will tell how effective these sanctions will be, "but President Trump has said that the Indian PM Narendra Modi has assured him that India will cease Russian oil purchases."
Tesla swings higher after earnings
Tesla (TSLA) stock was down more than 5% at Thursday's open in reaction to the electric vehicle maker's third-quarter results (PDF), though shares were 2.3% higher at the close.
While Tesla beat on the top line, with total revenue up 12% year over year, it missed on the bottom line amid lower EV prices and higher costs.
The results weren't enough to move the needle for CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson, who reiterated his Sell rating on the Magnificent 7 stock.
"In our view, the release and conference call did not do enough to address concerns surrounding the company's near-term earnings growth trajectory, with management passing on a couple of conference call questions related to future products," says Nelson.
He admits that the company's energy storage and generation business is helping to counter weaker growth in its automotive segment, but warns that "execution risk is high."
Most of Wall Street is on the sidelines when it comes to Tesla. Of the 46 analysts covering the consumer discretionary stock who are tracked by S&P Global Market Intelligence, 15 say it's a Strong Buy, six have it at Buy, 17 call it a Hold and nine rate it a Sell or Strong Sell. This works out to a consensus Hold recommendation.
