The US markets climbed on Thursday, with the S&P 500 extending gains into a third day, after American jobless claims and consumer confidence were reported better than expected. The government’s count of first-time filings for unemployment benefits last week declined to 364,000, the lowest level since April 2008 which lifted hopes that the jobs market may be in a slow recovery. The report showed that initial jobless claims fell 4,000 to 364,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 368,000. And, the Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators rose 0.5% in November after a 0.9% rise the month before. Separately, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s final reading of consumer sentiment rose to 69.9 in December from 64.1 at the end of last month.
However, the third estimate of the US gross domestic product was revised lower to 1.8% for July-September quarter from the second estimate of 2% and first estimate of 2.5%. Weak exports and rising imports and higher commodities prices subtracted from the growth. In Europe, Standard & Poor's downgraded Hungary’s sovereign credit rating to junk status with a negative outlook, citing unpredictable policy framework that is harming the economy's medium-term growth prospects.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 61.91 points, or 0.51 percent, to 12,169.70. The Standard and Poor’s 500 closed higher by 10.28 points, or 0.83 percent, to 1,254.00, while the Nasdaq composite gained 21.48 points, or 0.83 percent, to 2,599.45.
The Indian ADRs made a mixed closing on Thursday, Infosys Technologies was up 1.72%, ICICI Bank was up by 1.17% and Tata Motors was up by 0.89%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddys Lab was down by 0.09% and Tata Communications was down 0.09%.
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