Wall Street closed sharply higher on Thursday, led by a tech rally. Jobless claims falling more than expected led to a general feeling that the labor market was holding on against recessionary trends. The three most widely followed indexes closed the session in the green.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 683.04 points, or 1.8%, to close at 39,446.49. Twenty-nine components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while one remained unchanged.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 464.22 points, or 2.9%, to close at 16,660.02.
The S&P 500 increased 119.81 points, or 2.3%, to close at 5,319.31. All of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the green. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) advanced 3.7%, 2.3% and 2.2%, respectively.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 14.6% to 23.79. A total of 12 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 12.6 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners by a 3.59-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, advancing issues led decliners by a 2.76-to-1 ratio.
Initial Jobless Claims Fall Steeper Than Expected
The Labor Department said on Thursday that initial jobless claims were 233,000, decreasing 17,000 for the week ended Aug 3 from the previous week’s revised level. The prior week’s number was revised up by 1,000 to 250,000. The four-week moving average was 240,750, marking a rise of 2,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The prior week's average was revised up by 250 from 238,000 to 238,250.
Continuing claims came in at 1,875,000 for the week ended Jul 27, increasing 6,000 from last week’s revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 8,000 from 1,877,000 to 1,869,000. The four-week moving average was 1,862,000, an increase of 7,000 from the prior week's revised average. Last week's average was revised down by 2.000 from 1,857,000 to 1,855,000.
While it was expected that jobless claims would fall, the quantum led to a market rally, with the general consensus being that the labor market is far more robust than is being perceived currently. This also entails that the talks about an impending recession may be overblown.
As a result, mega-cap growth stocks like technology and discretionaries led the gains of the day. In fact, the market rally was across all broad sectors.
Consequently, shares of NVIDIA Corporation NVDA and Broadcom Inc. AVGO soared 6.1% and 7%, respectively. NVIDIA currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Economic Data
Per the U.S. Census Bureau, wholesale inventories for June came in at a 0.2% increase. The number for May was revised down to a 0.5% rise from the previously reported 0.6% increase.
Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.
Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpNVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
