US markets end higher on Thursday

07 Aug 2020 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Thursday, with the Nasdaq jumping to a new record closing high, as lawmakers pledged to keep working on another coronavirus financial-aid package and President Donald Trump said he could issue executive orders on some relief measures. Meanwhile, the State Department, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said it was lifting its global advisory against international travel for Americans that has been in place since March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sentiments also got boost on substantial gains by big-name tech companies like Facebook and Apple, which spiked by 6.5 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.  Google parent Alphabet, Netflix and Microsoft also posted notable gains as tech stocks continued to outperform the broader markets.

Besides, positive sentiment also generated in reaction to a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for US unemployment benefits pulled back by much more than expected in the week ended August 1st. The report said initial jobless claims tumbled to 1.186 million, a decrease of 249,000 from the previous week's revised level of 1.435 million. Street had expected jobless claims to edge down to 1.415 million from the 1.434 million originally reported for the previous week. With the much bigger than expected decrease, jobless claims dropped their lowest level since the coronavirus-induced lockdowns in mid-March. The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also fell to 1,337,750, a decrease of 31,000 from the previous week's revised average of 1,368,750.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 185.46 points 0.68 percent to 27,386.98, Nasdaq surged 109.67 points or 1 percent 11,108.07 and S&P 500 was up by 21.39 points or 0.64 percent to 3,349.16.

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