US markets closed higher on better-than-expected jobless claims data

03 Apr 2015 Evaluate

The US market closed higher on Thursday, as momentum was supported by better-than-expected jobless claims, which pointed to continued strength in the labor market, setting the stage for Friday’s closely watched nonfarm payrolls. The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits in late March fell to the second lowest amount since the recession ended and touched levels last seen 15 years ago, making initial claims one of the few economic indicators to show underlying strength in a US economy whose growth appears to have slackened in the first quarter. Initial jobless claims fell by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 268,000 in the seven days stretching from March 22 to March 28. The average of new claims over the past month, declined by 14,750 and stood at 285,500. The four-week average smoothens out sharp fluctuations in the more volatile weekly report and is seen as a more accurate predictor of labor-market trends. The continuing claims also decreased by 88,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2.33 million in the week ended March 21, marking the lowest level since December 2000. Continuing claims reflect the number of people already receiving benefits.

Meanwhile, the US trade deficit sank 17% in February to the lowest level since 2009, largely because of cheaper oil, but exports also fell to a two-and-a-half year bottom in a sign that a stronger dollar and a weak global economy are hurting American companies. The US trade deficit declined by $7.2 billion and stood at $35.4 billion in February from a revised $42.7 billion in January. The sharp drop is likely to boost first-quarter gross domestic product, but weaker exports could be a drag on the economy in the months ahead. Exports dropped 1.6% to $186.2 billion, the smallest amount since October 2012. Imports fell an even sharper 4.4% to $221.7 billion, the lowest in almost three years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 65.06 points or 0.37 percent to 17,763.24, Nasdaq was up by 6.71 points or 0.14 percent to 4,886.94 while, S&P 500 gained by 7.27 points or 0.35 percent to 2,066.96.

The Indian ADRs closed mixed on Thursday; HDFC Bank was up 1.13% and ICICI Bank was up by 0.07%. On the other hand, Tata Motors was down 0.40% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down 0.22%.

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