The stock market advanced to new record highs and closed with constructive gains in the wake of a rate cut by the European Central Bank. The ECB lowered EU deposit rates below 0% for the first time in its history and said that further stimulus measures were in the works. After several days of very sluggish trading, Wall Street was primed for another challenge to record levels, but each attempt to rally was undermined by caution before Friday's jobs report.
Today's economic data was eclipsed by the announcement by the ECB, but the greater-than-expected increase in new jobless claims -- coming on the heels of the weak ADP report -- ignited worries about the May jobs report. Initial claims rose 8,000 to 312,000 versus the consensus for a 10,000 gain to 310,000. The week prior was revised upward to 304,000 from 300,000 initially.
In M&A news, Sprint ( S ) has offered $40 per share for rival T-Mobile ( TMUS ), a deal valued at approximately $50 billion that would merge the third and fourth largest wireless carriers. Shares of both companies closed lower.
Here's where the markets stand at the close:
US MARKETS
Dow Jones Industrial Index was up 98 points (+0.6%) at 16,836
S&P 500 was up 12.58 points (+0.7%) at 1,940
Nasdaq Composite Index was up 44 points (+1.1%) at 4,296
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
FTSE 100 was down 0.08%
Nikkei 225 was up 0.08%
Hang Seng Index was up 0.18%
Shanghai China Composite Index was up 0.79%
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) OLED Approved a program to repurchase up to $50 million outstanding stock
(+) UNXL Company plans conference call to discuss multi-sensor films
(+) BRLI Revenue and earnings topped analyst estimates
(+) XNPT Nominated three independent professionals for the company's board of directors,
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) LTM Downgraded by Piper Jaffray to Neutral from Overweight, PT cut $5
(-) RAD Said that profits will decline in higher drug costs
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
