After facing significant downward pressure in the previous session, stocks have witnessed a sharp rebound during Thursday’s trading. The major indexes have all exhibited strong upward movements, effectively erasing the losses from the prior day.At present, the major indexes are hovering just below their session highs. The Nasdaq has surged 336.94 points, or 2.1%, to 16,532.75. The S&P 500 has increased by 89.85 points, or 1.7%, to 5,289.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 507.70 points, or 1.3%, to 39,271.15.The rally on Wall Street follows a Labor Department report that revealed a more substantial-than-expected decline in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits for the week ending August 3rd.According to the report, initial jobless claims dropped to 233,000, a decrease of 17,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 250,000. Economists had anticipated that jobless claims would fall slightly to 240,000 from the 249,000 originally reported for the prior week.This unexpected decline comes after jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 258,000 in the week ending August 5, 2023. The data has mitigated concerns about the robustness of the labor market, which had fueled recent sell-offs on Wall Street.”Initial jobless claims are taking center stage as economists and investors seek guidance from real-time indicators on the economy’s health,” said Oren Klachkin, Economist at Nationwide Financial Markets. “To us, the data suggest we’re on track for a cooldown – not a recession. However, risks are tilted to the downside, and the Fed should remain vigilant for non-linearities as it maintains a restrictive policy stance,” he added.Notable individual stock movements include Under Armour (UAA), which has skyrocketed 19.6% after reporting an unexpected fiscal third-quarter profit. Eli Lilly (LLY) has also seen significant gains following better-than-expected second-quarter results and an increase in its full-year revenue guidance.Conversely, shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) have slumped after the company reported disappointing second-quarter results and announced a $9.1 billion write-down related to its TV networks.Sector NewsNetworking stocks are among the top performers today, leading to an 8.0% jump in the NYSE Arca Networking Index. Significant strength is also evident in semiconductor stocks, as indicated by a 4.6% surge in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC) has soared 9.2% after Raymond James upgraded its rating on the stock from Market Perform to Outperform.Pharmaceutical stocks are also experiencing considerable strength, buoyed by Eli Lilly’s positive results, with the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index climbing 2.9%. Additional gains are seen in software, oil producer, and computer hardware stocks. However, telecom stocks are defying the overall upward trend.Other MarketsIn overseas trading, the stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region mostly declined on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dropped 0.7%, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.5%.In contrast, the major European markets have shown mixed results. The German DAX Index edged up by 0.1%, whereas both the French CAC 40 Index and the UK’s FTSE 100 Index declined by 0.4%.In the bond market, treasuries have moved lower in response to the initial jobless claims data. Consequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves inversely to its price, has risen by 3.2 basis points to 4.00%.The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com
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