S&P 500 and Nasdaq rise as Trump wins, Fed in focus

Another group of companies reported earnings Thursday morning.

Moderna (MRNA) rose 5% at market open as its earnings beat expectations, thanks in part to better-than-expected Covid vaccine sales. Warner Bros. (WBD) rose 10% thanks to streaming growth as Max subscribers surged. Meanwhile, Hershey (HSY) fell more than 1% after falling as much as 3% premarket as high cocoa prices hurt its sales outlook for the year.

Here's a closer look at the companies' performance:

Hershey: Adjusted earnings per share of $2.34 vs. $2.56 per share expected, revenue of $2.99 ​​billion vs. $3.07 billion expected

Moderna: Earnings per share of $0.03 versus expected loss of $1.98 per share, revenue of $1.86 billion versus $1.25 billion expected

Warner Bros.: Adjusted earnings per share of $0.05 vs. expected loss of $0.12 per share, revenue of $9.62 billion vs. $9.81 billion expected

Meanwhile, energy companies were flat after posting mixed results as some of their businesses were hit by natural disasters. Duke Energy's (DUK) profits were hit by hurricane costs, while Pacific Gas & Electric (PCG) suffered a loss in revenue after the company shut off power in Northern California due to fire risks. Nuclear energy provider Vistra rose 11% after a profit decline as it recovers from earlier losses.

Stocks extended gains on Thursday following a huge rally following Donald Trump's White House victory. The rise in stocks comes ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.1%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained about 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.5% after all three major averages closed at record highs on Wednesday.

As Yahoo Finance's Jennifer Schonberger reports, the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points and avoid unnecessary surprises after Trump is elected the next president.

Meanwhile, parts of the “Trump trade” showed signs of some easing on Thursday as shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) fell double digits, erasing gains from the previous session.

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) fell double digits in premarket trading on Thursday, reversing Wednesday's gains as Donald Trump cruised to victory over Kamala Harris in the presidential election.

As Yahoo Finance's Allie Canal reports, shares of the company – home of Trump's social media platform Truth Social – have had a wild ride over the past week, with the ups and downs largely tied to Trump's chances of reclaiming the share price White House.

The stock is down about 10% in the last five days, even though shares are up nearly 120% in the last month.

Read more here.

Initial jobless claims jumped to 221,000 last week, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level, according to data released Thursday morning by the U.S. Labor Department.

The previous week's value was revised upwards by 2,000 from 216,000 to 218,000.

Meanwhile, ongoing claims stood at 1,892,000, an increase of 39,000 from the previous week's revised level.

Here's a look at the big economic and market themes today as Wall Street braces for Donald Trump's impending return to the White House. The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points today to ensure stability and avoid surprises following Trump's election victory.

Economic data: Fed interest rate decision; Initial Jobless Claims (Week Ending November 2)

Earnings: Affirm (AFRM), Airbnb (ABNB), Block (SQ), Datadog (DDOG), DraftKings (DKNG), Halliburton (HAL), Hershey (HSY), Moderna (MRNA), Pinterest (PINS), Rivian (RIVN), The Trade Desk (TTD)

Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed overnight and this morning:

The Fed is likely to cut interest rates as Powell seeks stability after Trump's victory

The rise in US bond yields is a warning to the “King of Debt” Trump

How Elon Musk's latest government bet paid off

YF columnist Rick Newman: Americans want to return to a place that no longer exists

DJT short sellers suffer a loss of $420 million

How Elon Musk's latest government bet paid off

Moderna Stock Rises on Surprise Earnings Related to COVID Vaccine

Bank of England cuts interest rate to 4.75%