The US markets ended significantly in green terrain on Thursday, as traders continued to shrug off concerns about the escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and China. Traders also took some encouragement with upbeat economic data, with a report from the Labor Department showing initial jobless claims unexpectedly dipped to their lowest level in nearly fifty years in the week ended September 15th. The Labor Department said jobless claims edged down to 201,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 204,000. The street had expected jobless claims to rise to 210,000. With the unexpected decrease, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 197,000 in November of 1969. A separate report from the Conference Board showed a continued increase by its index of leading economic indicators in the month of August. The Conference Board said its leading economic index rose by 0.4 percent in August after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.7 percent in July. Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing existing home sales were unexpectedly flat in August, with sales growth in the Northeast and Midwest offset by downturns in the South and West.
Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 251.22 points or 0.95 percent to 26,656.98, the S&P 500 gained 22.80 points or 0.78 percent to 2930.75 and Nasdaq was up by 78.19 points or 0.98 percent to 8,028.23.
