US close: Stocks finish firmer after Wednesday's sell-off
Wall Street stocks finished in the green on Thursday, as major indices attempted to claw back some of what had been lost over the last two days of heavy losses.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.52% at 26,659.11, the S&P 500 added 1.19% to 3,310.11, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.64% firmer at 11,185.59.
The Dow Jones closed 139.16 points higher on Thursday, barely making a dent in the more than 900 point loss recorded in the previous session.
Thursday's main focus was an advance reading of the US' third-quarter gross domestic product which revealed that US GDP bounced back from the collapse in activity witnessed over the preceding three months during the quarter.
According to the Department of Commerce, GDP shot back at an annualised pace of 33.1% following the second quarter's 31.4% plunge.
However, despite the record pace of expansion registered over the three months to September, GDP remained 3.5% below its end 2019 level, before the onset of the pandemic.
Also in focus, jobless claims hit a seven month low last week, according to the Department of Labor, dropping by 40,000 over the week ended 24 October.
The four-week moving average for initial claims slipped by 24,500 to 787,750, while continuing claims also dropped - down 709,000 to hit 7.75m.
In the corporate space, Molson Coors was 1.37% firmer after it beat both earnings and revenue estimates, while Dunkin Brands gained 0.37% after it also topped earnings estimates thanks to a bump in same-store sales.
Elsewhere, Kellogg lost 0.66% even after it raised its full-year guidance, while Ralph Lauren slid 5.05% after saying that the Covid-19 pandemic had led to a 30% quarterly decline in sales.
Dow Jones - Risers
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $32.97 4.43%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $115.32 3.71%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $68.80 2.87%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $121.54 2.59%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $154.67 2.32%
Visa Inc. (V) $184.87 2.21%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $108.91 2.12%
Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX) $53.14 1.53%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $204.72 1.01%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $56.76 0.80%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $33.52 -3.09%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $303.68 -1.40%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $137.19 -0.85%
American Express Co. (AXP) $91.07 -0.58%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $35.28 -0.48%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $75.89 -0.38%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $44.11 -0.32%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $139.92 -0.09%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $137.57 -0.07%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $35.69 -0.06%
S&P 500 - Risers
Alliance Data Systems Corp. (ADS) $52.04 18.92%
CBRE Group Inc (CBRE) $51.30 16.80%
Twitter Inc (TWTR) $52.43 8.04%
Tapestry Inc. (TPR) $22.73 6.66%
Martin Marietta Mtrl (MLM) $263.60 6.53%
LKQ Corporation (LKQ) $31.68 6.42%
Textron Inc. (TXT) $34.07 6.17%
Essex Prty Trust Inc. (ESS) $197.58 6.04%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $201.95 5.98%
MGM Resorts International (MGM) $21.29 5.92%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Abiomed Inc. (ABMD) $254.61 -10.03%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $49.28 -7.46%
Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) $125.11 -5.65%
Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) $70.59 -5.01%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $58.33 -4.63%
Anthem Inc (ANTM) $273.26 -4.39%
Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. (MMC) $103.01 -4.26%
T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW) $131.44 -4.16%
Aon plc (AON) $186.79 -4.06%
Humana Inc. (HUM) $396.49 -3.99%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $201.95 5.98%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $280.83 4.92%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $72.19 4.61%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $441.80 4.47%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $353.26 4.24%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $126.44 4.00%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $145.16 3.84%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $59.50 3.80%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $217.63 3.78%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $93.33 3.73%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $49.28 -7.46%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $6.74 -3.16%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $33.52 -3.09%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $555.79 -1.98%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $18.63 -1.90%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $19.01 -1.86%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $38.11 -1.80%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $77.77 -1.57%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $436.33 -1.37%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $123.90 -1.35%