The S&P 500 rose for a sixth day in a row on Thursday as investors were encouraged by the Federal Reserve's decision to maintain low interest rates as the central bank starts tapering its bond-buying programs.
"The Fed's tapering announcement removes a minor, but overhanging worry across markets, as investors had been waiting for this moment for months, and it reinforces that view that the economic recovery has a long runway, a;beit with a low rate of growth," said George Ball, chairman of Sanders Morris Harris, quoted by CNBC. Ball added that the Fed's decision "is a signal of economic strength, which is good for corporate earnings and markets."
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
U.S. trade deficit surges to new record high in September:
The U.S. trade deficit rose to a new record high in September as exports took a dive, according to the Commerce Department's latest data published Thursday.
The Commerce Department said that the trade gap surged 11.2% to a record $80.9 billion for the month, above the $80.5 billion expected by consensus economists.
Exports fell 3.05% to $207.6 billion in September, with goods exports dropping 4.7% to $142.7 billion. This decline was led by industrial supplies, according to the report, with crude oil exports decreasing by $1.0 billion.
Imports rose by 0.6% to a record $288.5 billion, with goods imports increasing by 0.8% to $240.9 billion, also a record high. Imports of industrial supplies and materials were also at their highest rate since April 2014.
Weekly unemployment claims fall to fresh pandemic-era low:
New weekly jobless claims reached a fresh pandemic-era low last week, as labor market improvements are met with elevated demand.
Initial unemployment claims totaled 269,000 for the week ended Oct. 30, according to the Labor Department's latest report published Thursday, falling to the lowest level since March 2020. The new low followed the prior week's total of 283,000 claims, with that total being upwardly revised from the 281,000 reported previously.
Moreover, continuing jobless claims also fell at a more-than-expected rate to reach their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic, totaling 2.105 million for the week ended Oct. 23, down from the 2.239 million from the previous week.
Here's how market benchmarks started trading soon after open:
S&P 500 Index: +0.18% or +8.61 points to 4,669.18
Dow Jones Industrial Average: -0.09% or -31.95 points to 36,125.63
Nasdaq Composite Index: +0.38% or +60.39 points to 15,871.98
