US close: Major indices end session higher as tech stocks shine

Wall Street stocks closed higher on Thursday as some major tech gains offset minutes from the Fed's latest meeting and an increase in initial unemployment claims that initially weighed on sentiment.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.17% higher at 27,739.73, while the S&P 500 was 0.32% firmer at 3,385.51 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.06% stronger at 11,264.95.

The Dow closed 46.85 points higher on Thursday, clawing back some of of the previous session's losses that came as minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting spooked investors after the central bank cut its economic growth forecast for the remainder of 2020 and stressed the need for more financial aid to vulnerable families and the broader economy due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Also in focus was this week's unemployment claims data from the Department of Labor, which revealed that the number of people filing for jobless claims for the first time increased by 135,000 to 1.106m over the week ended 15 August. On the other hand, secondary unemployment claims continued retreating, by 636,000 to 14.84m over the week ending on 8 August.

However, while the Federal Reserve's minutes weighed heavily on sentiment, losses were somewhat pared after China's commerce ministry revealed that Washington and Beijing would head back to the negotiating table over the coming days and gains in Facebook, Netflix, Alphabet and Microsoft shares all helped major indices end the session in the green.

Elsewhere on the macro front, manufacturing activity in the US slowed slightly last month, the results of a closely-followed survey showed. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's regional factory sector index slipped from a reading of 24.1 points for July to 17.2 in August (consensus: 20.0). A sub-index tracking new orders decreased from 23.0 to 19.0.

Lastly, the Conference Board's leading index for July increased at a slower pace than the previous two months at a rate of 1.4% to 104.4, indicating the initial post-pandemic recovery appeared to be losing steam.

In corporate news, Apple became the US' first company to hit a market capitalisation of $2.0trn, while Estee Lauder posted a 32% drop in quarterly sales and announced it would be cutting as many as 2,000 jobs.

Nvidia shares slipped despite posting a 50% jump in quarterly revenues, while Intel shares advanced in early trade after announcing an accelerated buyback plan.