US markets end higher on Thursday

18 Dec 2020 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Thursday amid positive developments on the stimulus front, with lawmakers signaling progress toward an agreement on a new relief package. Following a meeting with other congressional leaders, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., said the talks have made major headway toward hammering out a targeted pandemic relief package that would be able to pass both chambers with bipartisan majorities. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., agreed that the two sides are close to an agreement' but cautioned that it’s not a done deal yet. The positive sentiment was partly offset by a report from the Labor Department showing an unexpected increase in first-time claims for US unemployment benefits in the week ended December 12th.

The report said initial jobless claims rose to 885,000, an increase of 23,000 from the previous week's revised level of 862,000. The continued increase surprised participants, who had expected jobless claims to drop to 800,000 from the 853,000 originally reported for the previous week. With the unexpected increase, jobless claims climbed to their highest level since hitting 893,000 in the week ended September 5th. However, while the data has raised concerns about the outlook for the labor market, it could also put further pressure on lawmakers to reach an agreement on a stimulus bill.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 148.83 points or 0.49 percent to 30,303.37, Nasdaq surged 106.56 points or 0.84 percent to 12,764.75 and S&P 500 gained 21.31 points or 0.58 percent 3,722.48.

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