US close: S&P 500 snaps five-day losing streak as stocks rise
Wall Street stocks finished in positive territory on Thursday, with the S&P 500 breaking a five-day losing streak, as investors digested this week's jobless claims report from the Labor Department.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.55% at 33,781.48, as the S&P 500 added 0.75% to 3,963.51 and the Nasdaq Composite was ahead 1.13% at 11,082.00.
The Dow closed 183.56 points higher on Thursday, boosting away from Wednesday’s flat performance.
“US markets are enjoying a welcome break from the selling pressure that has dominated this week thus far, with the Nasdaq surging upward after a five-day losing streak that has brought over 4% of downside,” said IG senior market analyst Joshua Mahony.
“To a large extent this week highlights how traders have to somehow weigh up the benefits of a gradual Chinese reopening with the fears of an impending economic contraction in the year ahead.
“While the resurgence in equities seen today does highlight the interchangeable nature of market sentiment at the moment, the surge in natural gas seen since Tuesday does highlight how a cold snap in Europe could once again test the bulls if inflation fears resurface.”
Thursday's primary focus on the economic front was the Labor Department's all-important jobless claims report, which revealed Americans filed first-time unemployment claims at an accelerated clip in the week ended 3 December.
Initial jobless claims rose by 4,000 to 230,000, up from the prior week's upwardly revised print, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, also printed at 230,000 - the highest level seen since the final week of August.
Market participants also continued to assess the likelihood of a coming recession ahead of an expected 50 basis point interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve next week, with many traders now losing faith in the central bank's ability to engineer a soft landing.
In equities, pharmaceutical developer Pharvaris went stratospheric, rocketing 356.57% after it reported positive data from its trial in mid-stage hereditary angioedema.
GameStop was ahead 11.37% despite disappointing in its latest quarterly earnings, while Exxon Mobil eked out gains of 0.74% after it announced share buybacks of up to $50bn through to the end of 2024.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com. Additional reporting by Iain Gilbert.
Dow Jones - Risers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $111.36 2.80%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $48.99 1.68%
Boeing Co. (BA) $179.08 1.46%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $247.40 1.24%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $324.09 1.23%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $142.65 1.21%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $273.39 1.13%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $132.88 1.05%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $547.73 0.92%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $230.92 0.85%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $358.08 -0.51%
American Express Co. (AXP) $153.96 -0.42%
3M Co. (MMM) $126.03 -0.28%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $50.56 -0.28%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $130.13 -0.27%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $148.78 -0.22%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $37.12 -0.19%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $187.68 -0.18%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $285.57 -0.07%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
S&P 500 - Risers
Svb Financial Group (SIVB) $222.64 6.89%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $171.69 6.51%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $18.64 4.72%
Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $242.62 4.34%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $405.38 4.30%
PVH Corp. (PVH) $75.78 4.05%
Evergy, Inc. (EVRG) $62.00 3.90%
Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $92.54 3.71%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $54.43 3.54%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $95.17 3.49%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) $31.45 -10.86%
Avery Dennison Corp. (AVY) $178.79 -6.54%
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) $221.46 -3.53%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $32.18 -2.90%
State Street Corp. (STT) $78.12 -2.90%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $42.80 -2.86%
HF Sinclair Corporation (DINO) $49.74 -2.81%
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $117.08 -2.74%
Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $132.90 -2.68%
Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) $32.92 -2.60%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $171.69 6.51%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $120.33 5.02%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $33.70 4.43%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $405.38 4.30%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $71.21 4.11%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $54.43 3.54%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $95.17 3.49%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $60.37 3.28%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $35.23 3.19%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $93.58 3.07%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $2.03 -4.69%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $143.81 -3.35%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $10.48 -1.87%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $74.76 -1.54%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $93.71 -1.30%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $93.95 -1.26%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $289.10 -1.04%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $103.62 -0.83%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $6.15 -0.81%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $67.59 -0.65%