Stocks moved skyward Thursday after new labour market data boosted investors’ confidence in the U.S. economy following a sharp market selloff early in the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial index popped 683.04 points, or 1.8%, to 39,446.49.
The S&P 500 index recovered 119.81 points, or 2.3%, to 5,319.31.
The NASDAQ surged 464.21 points, or 2.9%, to 16,660.02.
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly surged around 9% 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%. Meta Platforms climbed 3.5%, and Apple ticked up 1.4%.
The major averages are still lower week to date but have recovered much of their losses from Monday’s rout. The S&P 500 is down 0.5% for the week, while the Dow and NASDAQ are lower by around 0.6% each.
The latest weekly jobless claims came in below forecasts, helping to allay some recent concerns on the strength of the labour 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 U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury backed off, yields hiking to 3.99% from Wednesday’s 3.95%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices prospered 87 cents at $76.10 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices brightened $30.60 to $2,459.40.
