After initially showing a lack of direction, stocks have moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Thursday. The major averages have all moved to the upside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the advance.
Currently, the major averages are just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq is up 113.95 points or 0.9 percent at 13,218.85, the S&P 500 is up 22.49 points or 0.5 percent at 4,290.01 and the Dow is up 166.69 points or 0.5 percent at 33,831.71.
The strength on Wall Street partly reflects easing concerns about the outlook for interest rates following the release of a Labor Department report showing initial jobless claims increased by much more than expected in the week ended June 3rd.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims climbed to 261,000, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 233,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 235,000 from the 232,000 originally reported for the previous week.
With the much bigger than expected advance, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 264,000 in the week ended October 30, 2021.
While economists noted jobless claims can be volatile around holidays like Memorial Day, the data seems to have added to optimism about the Federal Reserve pausing its interest rate hikes next week.
The Fed, which has previously warned about the impact of labor market tightness, is due to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday.
Key inflation reports are also likely to be in the spotlight next week, as the data could impact whether the Fed resumes its rate hikes next month.
Sector News
Airline stocks have moved significantly higher over the course of the session, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index climbing by 1.6 percent to its best intraday level in a year.
Considerable strength has also emerged among retail stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain being posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index.
Computer hardware, pharmaceutical and gold stocks have also moved to the upside on the day, while some weakness remains visible among banking stocks.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in yet another mixed performance on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.9 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed by 0.5 percent.
The major European markets also finished the day mixed. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index inched up by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved to the upside over the course of the session after seeing initial weakness. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 5.1 basis points at 3.733 percent.
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