US markets end mostly higher on Thursday

19 Jun 2020 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Thursday, but the Dow Jones closed lower for a second straight session, as investors digested a weekly report on the labor market in the US and contended with signs of rising cases and hospitalizations of COVID-19 in several states.  New US cases and hospitalizations remain a source of anxiety for investors, with Texas, Arizona, Florida and Oklahoma reporting growing infections. 259 new cases over the previous day in Oklahoma, with President Donald Trump set to hold a campaign rally in Tulsa over the weekend. Florida reported more than 2,600 new cases and Arizona more than 1,800. On the economic data front, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell by much less than expected in the week ended June 13. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dropped to 1.508 million, a decrease of 58,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 1.566 million. Street had expected jobless claims to tumble to 1.300 million from the 1.542 million originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve released a separate report showing an unexpected expansion in regional manufacturing activity in the month of June. The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity soared to a positive 27.5 in June from a negative 43.1 in May, with a positive reading indicating an expansion in regional manufacturing activity. Street had expected the index to show a much more modest increase to a negative 23.0, which would have still indicated a contraction.

Nasdaq gained 32.52 points or 0.3 percent 9,943.05 and S&P 500 was up by 1.85 points or 0.1 percent to 3,115.34, while Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 39.51 points or 0.2 percent to 26,080.10.

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