US markets end higher on Thursday

09 Aug 2019 Evaluate

The US markets end higher on Thursday as government bond yields rebounded from the previous day's slide following upbeat trade data out of China. Yields and bond prices move in opposite directions. The rally on markets also reflected as jitters over a potential trade and currency clash between Beijing and Washington gave way to greed for beaten-down assets. On the economic front, with a drop in inventories of non-durable goods offsetting an increase in inventories of durable goods, the Commerce Department released a report showing wholesale inventories in the US were unchanged in the month of June. The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories were virtually unchanged in June after climbing by 0.4 percent in May. Street had expected inventories to rise by 0.2 percent. The report said inventories of durable goods rose by 0.3 percent for the second straight month amid jumps in inventories of computer equipment and furniture.

Besides, first-time claims for US unemployment benefits unexpectedly showed a modest decrease in the week ended August 3, according to a report released by the Labor Department. The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 209,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level of 217,000. Street had expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 215,000 originally reported for the previous week. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 212,250, an increase of 250 from the previous week's revised average of 212,000. Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, fell by 15,000 to 1.684 million in the week ended July 27. The four-week moving average of continuing claims also slid to 1,687,250, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 1,698,250.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 371.12 points or 1.43 percent to 26378.19, Nasdaq surged 176.33 points or 2.24 percent to 8039.16 and S&P 500 was up by 54.11 points or 1.88 percent to 2938.09. 

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