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Lukas Jackson / Reuters
US stocks closed mixed, with investors applauding encouraging data on jobless claims and progress towards a stimulus compromise.
The Nasdaq composite closed at a record high, while the S&P 500 lost its record close in the final hour of trading amid concerns that vaccine rollouts will be slower than expected.
The first progress came as lawmakers braced for the $ 908 billion proposal Democratic leaders adopted on Wednesday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not said whether he will raise his own offer to reach a deal, but he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on the project Thursday afternoon. omnibus spending law and additional fiscal stimulus.
New weekly unemployment insurance claims totaled 712,000 unadjusted for the week that ended Saturday, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists polled by Bloomberg were expecting a reading of 775,000. The drop broke a series of two-week increases for initial filings.
Here’s where the U.S. indices were at the market close at 4:00 p.m. Thursday:
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Continuing claims, which follow Americans receiving unemployment benefits, fell to 5.5 million for the week that ended Nov. 21.
Some economists fear that the drop in jobless claims could be largely attributed to the Thanksgiving holiday, and that deposits will rise again in the coming weeks.
“The drop in claims reported today reverses the increases of the past two weeks, but it would be a mistake to view the drop as just a mean reversion,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “The drop is fluke, not the increases that came before it.”
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Investors will have another look at how the labor market is recovering on Friday when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its November report on nonfarm wages. Economists expect the US economy to have added 486,000 payrolls during the month. The unemployment rate is expected to decline 0.1 point to 6.8%.
Utilities and materials lagged behind the market recovery. Energy and real estate stocks outperformed.
Thursday’s gains push the S&P 500 to record highs for the third day in a row. Shares erased the morning’s losses and closed higher on Wednesday as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer backed the $ 908 billion stimulus.
Boeing led the Dow higher as stocks rose with optimism about the return of its 737 Max. Ryanair Holdings has placed an order for 75 jets for the model, the largest purchase to date since the plane was grounded almost two years ago.
Tesla won after Goldman Sachs upgraded its shares to “buy” from “neutral” in a note to customers. The bank also raised its price target for the automaker to $ 780, which implies a 37% rally from Wednesday’s close over the next 12 months.
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CrowdStrike jumped after its third quarter tax report beat earnings and revenue expectations. The cybersecurity firm also raised its forecast for the current quarter above Wall Street estimates.
Bitcoin hit a 24-hour high of $ 19,614.08, before cutting some gains.
Spot gold gained 0.7% to $ 1,844.02 an ounce. The US dollar weakened against all of its Group of 10 peers, while yields on Treasuries fell.
Oil prices edged up after OPEC + decided to phase out production cuts. West Texas Intermediate crude gained as much as 1.2% to $ 45.84 a barrel. Brent, the international benchmark for oil, rose 1.4% to $ 48.94 a barrel, to intraday highs.
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