US stocks climbed Thursday after new labor market data boosted investors’ confidence in the US economy following a sharp market sell-off earlier in the week.
The S&P 500 advanced 2.3 per cent, closing at 5,319.31 and posting its best day since November 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 683.04 points, or 1.76 per cent, to 39,446.49. The Nasdaq Composite added 2.87 per cent, ending at 16,660.02.
Turning to US sectors, all closed higher overnight. Technology was the best performer, closing higher by 3.31 per cent. Utilities recorded the fewest gains, closing higher by 0.15 per cent.
In company-related news, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly surged 9.5 per cent after posting better-than-expected earnings and raising its full-year outlook on strong demand for diabetes treatment Mounjaro and obesity drug Zepbound.
The momentum names which suffered the most Monday bounced back Thursday.
Chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom both jumped by more than 6 per cent. Meta Platforms climbed 4.2 per cent and Apple ticked up about 1.7 per cent.
The latest weekly jobless claims came in below forecasts, helping to allay some recent concerns about the strength of the labor market. First-time filings for jobless benefits came in at 233,000 last week, down 17,000 from the previous week and lower than the Dow Jones estimate for 240,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The current levels of initial jobless claims continue to indicate a moderate economic contraction rather than a looming recession.
Also aiding markets Thursday was a weaker Japanese yen versus the U.S. dollar. A yen surge that caused the unwinding of a popular so-called carry trade with hedge funds was a main culprit cited for Monday’s stock drop.
Futures
The SPI futures are pointing to a 1.1 per cent gain.
Currency
One Australian dollar at 7.25am was buying 65.93 US cents.
Commodities
Gold has gained 1.27 per cent. Silver has jumped 2.46 per cent. Copper has risen 0.18 per cent. Oil has added 1.28 per cent.
Figures around the globe
European markets closed mixed yesterday. London’s FTSE lost 0.27 per cent, Frankfurt added 0.37 per cent, and Paris closed 0.26 per cent lower.
Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.74 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.08 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite closed flat.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.23 per cent lower at 7681.98.
Ex-dividends
Alcoa Corporation (ASX:AAI) is paying 10.7132 cents unfranked
Djerriwarrh Investments (ASX:DJW) is paying 8 cents fully franked
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap, Marketech.
