The S&P 500 (SPX) is rising Thursday as the stock market is knee-deep in earnings season. That has loads of companies releasing their results for the fourth quarter of 2024 today. Eli Lilly (LLY) and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) are two of the stocks majorly leading markets higher alongside earnings reports today.
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There’s also growing excitement for more earnings reports coming after the bell. Chief among these is Amazon (AMZN) releasing its report after markets close. Pinterest (PINS) and Cloudflare (NET) will also post their most recent earnings reports later today.
All of this earnings news is lifting the SPX up .22%. That continues its positive momentum in 2025 with the index up 3.06% year-to-date.
Which Stocks Are Lifting the SPX Up Today
Turning to the TipRanks SPX heatmap tool, investors will see which stocks are pushing the index higher today. As mentioned, LLY and ICE shares are behind some of its gains thanks to their earnings reports. Nvidia (NVDA), Citigroup (C), and Phillip Morris (PM) are also helping keep the index up today with strong gains despite drops in the healthcare and energy sectors.
How to Invest in the S&P 500
Investors can’t take a direct stake in the S&P 500 as it’s only an index. Instead, they might consider buying shares of companies listed on it. Picking up stocks after earnings isn’t uncommon as investors hope for further gains alongside strong outlooks. Investors might also want to look at shares falling today as the dips could present profitable entry points to the stocks.
Another option is buying an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the SPX, including those betting on or against the index. One popular choice among traders is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) but there are plenty of other ETFs available.
