S&P 500 Gains and Losses Today: Walmart Stock Soars After Strong Earnings Report

Major U.S. equities indexes ticked lower on Thursday, retreating from the all-time highs they posted Wednesday.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.2%. The Dow pierced the 40,000-point milestone for the first time in its history in intraday trading but then sank to close Thursday's session 0.1% lower. The Nasdaq also receded from Wednesday's record, losing 0.3%.

Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) shares posted the steepest losses of any S&P 500 component, sliding 5.1% on Thursday. The supplier of building materials declared a quarterly cash dividend, but the company faces capacity constraints in its cement business that could limit its ability to respond to upticks in demand.

Shares of Super Micro Computer (SMCI) fell 5.0%, giving back a portion of the massive gains posted in the prior session. The downtick could represent some profit-taking after the most recent surge for Supermicro stock, which has drawn significant attention from investors based on the company's high-performance servers capable of running artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

Deere & Co. (DE) shares dropped 4.7% after the manufacturer of farm and construction equipment cut its profit forecast for the second straight quarter. The company said it is adapting to transformations in the worldwide agricultural sector, adjusting production and inventory levels to align with evolving demand trends.

The S&P 500's top daily performance came from shares of Walmart (WMT), which surged 7.0% after the retail giant reported better-than-expected quarterly sales and profits. Improvements in Walmart's e-commerce and international sales helped drive the strong performance, and the company boosted its guidance for the full year. Walmart's solid results may have helped lift some of its retail peers—shares of fellow discounter Dollar General (DG) were up 3.9%.

Chubb (CB) shares jumped 4.7% amid news that Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) has purchased roughly 26 million shares of the Switzerland-based insurer. The stake in Chubb had remained confidential until Berkshire's quarterly 13F regulatory filing revealed the position today. Buffet's firm maintains a significant footprint in the insurance industry.

Shares of 3M (MMM) added 3.6% after Vertical Research Partners upgraded the stock to "buy" and boosted its price target. The analyst sees a "turning point" for 3M after the conglomerate's new CEO took over at the beginning of the month, forecasting renewed growth and improved cash flows.