The US markets ended higher on Thursday as President Donald Trump prepares to announce guidelines for states on reopening the country later in the day. Citing encouraging developments, Trump said that some states could reopen before current social distancing guidelines expire on May 1. Traders will keep a close eye on Trump's new guidelines, which are likely to be announced at his daily coronavirus press briefing after the close of trading. Trump has been eager to reopen at least some parts of the country even though health officials have warned reopening too early could lead to a spike in coronavirus infections. Ahead of the announcement from Trump, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said his state's shutdown of non-essential businesses will be extended in coordination with other states until May 15th.
The markets were also reacting to the Labor Department's report on first-time claims for US unemployment benefits in the week ended April 11. The report showed more than 5 million filed for unemployment last week, although that reflects a decrease from the more than 6 million that filed for the first time in the previous week. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dropped to 5.245 million, a decrease of 1.370 million from the previous week's revised level of 6.615 million. Street had expected jobless claims to drop to 5.105 million from the 6.606 million originally reported for the previous month. While more than 22 million people have filed for unemployment in recent weeks due to the coronavirus-induced shutdown, the drop in claims may be seen as an optimistic sign among some investors.
Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 33.33 points or 0.14 percent to 23,537.68, Nasdaq rose 139.19 points 1.66 percent to 8,532.36 and S&P 500 was up by 16.19 points or 0.58 percent to 2,799.55.
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