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Shares rose on Thursday as the number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits for the first time indicated a gradual recovery in the labor market and investors focused on movement on a potential stimulus bill that’s in the pipeline. deadlock in Congress for months.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 148 points, or 0.5%, to 30,032, the S&P 500 gained 0.2%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.58%.
Boeing (BA) – Get the report drove the Dow Jones higher, up 7.7%, after receiving a large order from Dublin-based Ryanair for the company’s 737 MAX, the plane which has been on the ground since March 2019.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit record intraday highs.
Unemployment claims were lower than expected last week as businesses increased their hires ahead of the critical holiday shopping season. The Labor Department reported that 712,000 Americans first applied for unemployment benefits during the week ended Nov. 28, compared to 787,000 revised claims the week before.
It was the first drop in initial jobless claims in three weeks. The data was released a day after the United States recorded the deadliest day for Covid-19 deaths, with more than 2,700 Americans dying from the disease, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of patients with Covid-19 in US hospitals has exceeded 100,000 for the first time.
The enthusiasm that followed Britain becoming the first Western country to approve a Covid-19 vaccine – the photo by Pfizer (PFE) – Get the report and BioNTech (BNTX) – Get the report – was shaken by the realization that the United States could have a very difficult winter until a vaccine is widely distributed.
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the total number of deaths from Covid-19 could reach “nearly 450,000” by February unless Americans take greater precautions.
“The reality is that December and January and February are going to be tough times,” said Dr. Robert Redfield, the head of the CDC. “I actually believe this will be the most difficult time in the history of public health in this country.”
Los Angeles has ordered residents to stay home, with Mayor Eric Garcetti warning that the city is approaching a “devastating tipping point” in its fight against Covid-19.
The S&P 500 released its second straight record on Wednesday after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for stimulus talks to begin. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged Congress on Wednesday to approve a Covid-19 relief bill.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday there were “signs of hope” Congress could agree to a coronavirus relief bill before the end of the year.
Oil prices edged up on Thursday as OPEC leaders, along with non-member allies such as Russia, relaunched their virtual meeting in Vienna.
The cartel remained divided over whether to continue withholding 7.7 million barrels per day in production or reducing production to around 5.8 million per day – a reduction of around 2% of global supply – at the early next year.
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