[ad_1]
(For a live Reuters blog on the US, UK and EU stock markets, click LIVE / or type LIVE / in a news window)
* Weekly jobless claims increase unexpectedly
* Micron jumps after optimistic revenue forecast
* Indices: Dow + 0.50%, S&P 500 + 0.95%, Nasdaq + 1.48% (New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments to add post trading -mid, new signature)
April 1 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 crossed the 4,000 mark for the first time on Thursday, benefiting from gains from Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet, as well as optimism about the recovery of the US economy .
Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Nvidia jumped 1% or more, with these and other growth stocks showing signs of revival after lagging in recent weeks against so-called value stocks which are expected to outperform as the economy is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
Data showed that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased last week. However, other data showed that a measure of manufacturing activity reached its highest level in over 37 years in March, with factory employment being the highest since February 2018.
In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5% to 33,145.88 points, while the S&P 500 was up 0.95% to 4,010.77.
The Nasdaq Composite added 1.48% to 13,442.31.
With its latest intra-day high, the S&P 500 rose about 7% in 2021 and gained about 80% from its March 2020 low.
“We are still optimistic for this year, and we believe that with stimulus measures, with the Fed determined to be accommodating, with the economy reopening due to more United States getting vaccinated,” overall, you’ll see that corporate earnings are doing pretty well, ”said King Lip, chief investment strategist at Baker Avenue Asset Management in San Francisco.
The Nasdaq remained about 5% below its all-time Feb.12 close, still burning as higher U.S. bond yields hurt tech stocks.
Nine of S&P’s top 11 sectors advanced, with technology, communications services and energy gaining more than 1%.
Micron Technology Inc jumped 4% after chipmaker forecast third-quarter revenue higher than Wall Street estimates due to higher demand for memory chips, thanks to 5G smartphones and software artificial intelligence.
Rival Taiwan Semiconductor’s U.S.-listed shares rose 3.7% after announcing it would invest $ 100 billion over three years to meet growing demand for chips.
All three major indices are expected to end a week cut short by the holidays with gains, led by the Nasdaq. US stock markets will close for the Good Friday holiday.
The CBOE volatility index fell below 18 points for the first time in 14 months, a level last seen before the global financial market collapse due to coronaviruses in March 2020.
Johnson & Johnson fell 0.5% after the drugmaker said it found a problem with a batch of the drug substance for its COVID-19 vaccine produced by Emergent Biosolutions, whose shares fell 14%.
Rising issues outnumbered falling issues on the NYSE by a ratio of 3.42 to 1; on the Nasdaq, a ratio of 2.66 to 1 favored the advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 73 new highs and 11 new lows. (Additional reporting by Devik Jain and Medha singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and David Gregorio)
[ad_2]
Source link