Stocks rose on Thursday, rebounding from the sharp sell-off during the previous session on better-than-expected unemployment data. Wednesday's declines followed a speculative buying frenzy in heavily shorted stocks which made investors concerned about the future trajectory of the market, calling into question whether or not a correction was near.
These stocks, including GameStop
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
For Economic Activity, fourth quarter U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at a 4.0% annualized rate, falling shot of the 4.2% expected increase for the final three months of 2020. This slowdown followed a record 33.4% annualized increase in the previous quarter. More positively, weekly jobless claims for the week ended Jan. 23 totaled 847,000, according to the Labor Department, beating estimates for 875,000. However, the previous week's unemployment claims were upwardly revised to 914,000 from the 900,000 reported prior.
For Sector Performance, every sector on the S&P 500 reversed the previous session's losses and gained on Thursday, with Utilities
For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar
For Friday, market participants will turn their attention to a slew of economic data releases for December, including reports for personal income, consumer spending and core inflation.