Stocks rose slightly on Thursday, as tech shares boosted the broader market as investors became concerned following an unexpected jump in weekly jobless claims. The tech-heavy Nasdaq outperformed in a relatively flat market, while the S&P 500 was not too far behind and the Dow Jones ended the session just in the green.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Existing homes sales rise in June:
After four straight months of declines, sales of existing homes rose by 1.4% in June month-to-month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 5.86 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) latest report. These sales represent closings, so they are based on contracts signed in April and May.
Sales were 22.9% higher year-over-year, but the NAR notes that the annual comparison is still slightly skewed due to pandemic lockdowns in parts of the United States last summer. Inventory at the end of the month was 1.25 million, representing a 2.6 month supply, an improvement from May's 2.5 month supply of homes for sale.
"At a broad level, home prices are in no danger of a decline due to tight inventory conditions, but I do expect prices to appreciate at a slower pace by the end of the year," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, in a press statement. "Ideally, the costs for a home would rise roughly in line with income growth, which is likely to happen in 2022 as more listings and new construction become available."
Uber Freight to buy Transplaces for $2.25 billion:
Uber Freight
The deal, according to the companies, will create one of the leading logistics technology platforms, as it comes at a time of accelerated transformation in logistics.
"The demands of a volatile market and the increasing complexity of globalized logistics are clashing with industrial-age transportation technology," the companies said in a press statement. "In the midst of capacity constraints and escalating transportation costs, shippers are adapting their operations at an increasing pace and looking for technology, support, and solutions that can modernize their supply chain and keep critical goods, and the economy, moving."
The deal is still subject to regulatory approval.
Here's how the market started trading after opening bell:
S&P 500 Index: +0.11% or +4.83 points to 4,363.52
Dow Jones Industrial Average: -0.03% or -11.05 points to 34,786.95
Nasdaq Composite Index: +0.27% or +38.79 points to 14,670.75
Job market hit with another setback:
Market sentiment took a hit this morning after initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose in the Labor Department's latest report, demonstrating the continued choppiness of the job market's pandemic recovery.
Initial unemployment claims for the week ended July 17 totaled 419,000, up from the previous week's upwardly revised 368,000 and well above consensus expectations for a decline of 350,000. While claims have decreased from their April 2020 record of 6.149 million, they still remain above the 200,000 to 250,000 range that is seen as normal in healthy labor market conditions.
However, continuing jobless claims fell to their lowest level since late March 2020, declining to 3,236,000 for the week ended July 10. The previous week's total was revised higher to 3,265,000.
