S&P 500 notches biggest gain since March | Walgreens’ shares surge | Stocks with pricing power

Third-quarter earnings season was in full swing Thursday.

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE THU, OCT 14, 2021 EVENING BRIEF AS OF THU, OCT 14, 2021 • 05:05 ET DJIA 34912.56 +1.56% +534.75 S&P 500 4438.26 +1.71% +74.46 NASDAQ 14823.43 +1.73% +251.79   Most Active DOW NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAPL 143.76 +2.85 +2.02% WBA 50.77 +3.51 +7.43% MSFT 302.75 +6.44 +2.17% S&P 500 NAME LAST CHG %CHG BAC 45.07 +1.93 +4.47% AAPL 143.76 +2.85 +2.02% T 25.62 +0.32 +1.26% NASDAQ NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAPL 143.76 +2.85 +2.02% AMD 111.99 +2.83 +2.59% WBA 50.77 +3.51 +7.43%   EDITOR'S NOTE Earnings season was in full swing Thursday with a slew of better-than-expected reports before the bell. The strong results fueled a stock market rally, with the S&P 500 notching its biggest daily gain since March.   Walgreens Boots Alliance emerged as a top performer on both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, adding 7.4% after beating expectations on its quarterly earnings and revenue. The drugstore chain also said its new health-care segment will drive growth for the company, announcing an increased stake in primary-care provider VillageMD.   Other stocks that popped following quarterly results included UnitedHealth, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup.  While companies issuing earnings Thursday appeared to top expectations with ease, they belong to industries relatively insulated from the pandemic-related supply chain issues plaguing other areas.   "Sectors such as financials, internet, software, and health care (not to mention smaller sectors like real estate, utilities, energy, and most of materials) should be unaffected by supply chain problems," Mark Haefele, chief investment officer of UBS Global Wealth Management, said in a note Thursday.   Investors will be watching upcoming  quarterly reports for insights into how the supply disruptions could affect growth for retailers and other consumer brands. Hannah Miao | CNBC Associate Markets Reporter @HannahMiao_ Watch our live stream for all you need to know to invest smarter. TOP NEWS  S&P 500 jumps the most since March, powered by better-than-expected earnings FDA panel unanimously recommends Moderna Covid booster shots for at-risk adults Jobless claims fall below 300,000 for the first time since the pandemic began Companies with pricing power are a great place to hide out as inflation hits, says Wolfe Research Bank of America tops estimates on reserve release, strong advisory and asset management results Microsoft to shut down LinkedIn website in China as internet censorship increases in the country Cramer says he will sell half of his ether holdings if regulators approve bitcoin ETFs Walgreens earnings top estimates, as drugstore gives twice as many Covid vaccines as expected House panel investigating Jan. 6 Capitol riot will move to refer Steve Bannon for criminal contempt Foreclosures are surging now that Covid mortgage bailouts are ending, but they're still at low levels   TOP VIDEO Tom Lee doubles down on $100k year-end price target for bitcoin   CNBC PRO Goldman's top equity strategist says investors shouldn't expect another great year like this one because of tax threat   SPECIAL REPORTS More than a third of jobless Americans are still long-term unemployed — and without benefits 1 in 4 workers quit their job this year—here's what companies are getting wrong about retention   Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy   © 2021 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS