Stocks rose slightly at the end of another choppy session as tech shares recovered some of their recent losses and investors weighed fresh economic data against cloudy market outlook. Market sentiment, however, is still murky, with more volatile trading session expected as further fiscal stimulus hopes dim and the U.S. presidential election round the corner.
The Labor Department's latest update to the employment situation showed an expected rise in new jobless claims, with 870,000 new applicants filing for unemployment benefits for the week ended Sept. 19. However, new claims remained below the 1 million level that was seen throughout much of the pandemic. Moreover, continuing jobless claims, which lag behind initial claims, rose slightly to 12.580 million from the prior week's 12.747 million.
Meanwhile, new homes sales in the U.S. rose unexpectedly for the fourth consecutive month in August, according to new data from the Commerce Department. New single-family home purchases rose 4.8% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.011 million in August, far exceeding the 890,000 predicted.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
For Major Stock News, market driving mega-cap tech shares gained on Thursday: Amazon
For Sector Performance, every industry expect Health Care -0.52% gained amid the wild trading session. The performance gains were as follows: Utilities +1.17%, Consumer Staples +0.76%, Materials +0.70%, Information Technology +0.62%, Communication Services +0.40%, Real Estate +0.37%, Financials +0.19%, Consumer Discretionary +0.13%, Industrials +0.08% and Energy +0.08%.
For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar
For Friday, market participants will focus on fresh economic data for durable good and core capital goods.