US markets end higher on Thursday

01 Jan 2021 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Thursday as traders looked to give their portfolio a boost going into the end of the year. Traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves for much of the session, with some likely looking to get a head start on New Year's Eve celebrations. The gains on the day capped off a strong year for US stocks, which moved sharply higher for 2020 despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. For the year, the Dow jumped by 7.3 percent and the S&P 500 surged up by 16.3 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq skyrocketed 43.6 percent. The substantial gain by the Nasdaq came as tech stocks benefited from the stay-at-home orders issued in response to the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

On the economic data front, the Labor Department released a report unexpectedly showing a modest drop in first-time claims for US unemployment benefits in the week ended December 26th. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims edged down to 787,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week's revised level of 806,000. The dip surprised participants, who had expected jobless claims to rise to 833,000 from the 803,000 originally reported for the previous month.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 196.92 points or 0.65 percent to 30,606.48, Nasdaq gained 18.28 points or 0.14 percent to 12,888.28 and S&P 500 was up by 24.03 points or 0.64 percent 3,756.07.

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