US markets end higher on strong jobless claims data

21 May 2021 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Thursday buoyed by data showing a drop in jobless claims last week. Further, Technology stocks posted strong gains, contributing significantly to market's strong close. Besides, Bitcoin's rebound after a terrible setback in the previous session aided sentiment. A few encouraging earnings announcements helped as well.  Data released by the Labor Department showed unemployment claims in the US dropped by slightly more than expected in the week ending May 15th. The data showed that initial unemployment claims in the US fell to 444,000 last week, down from a revised 478,000 claims in the previous week. Street had expected unemployment claims to drop to around 450,000 in the week ending May 15th.

The much bigger than expected decrease in jobless claims makes the number the lowest since the week ended March 14, when it had dropped to 256,000. The Labor Department's data also showed that the number of continuing claims unexpectedly rose by 111,000 last week to 3.75 million, hitting a seven-week high. The four-week moving average of US jobless claims, which removes week-to-week volatility, dropped to a fourteen-month low of 504,750 in the week, down from a revised 535,250 in the previous week. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index fell to 31.5 in May from 50.2 in April which was the strongest reading in nearly 50 years. Figures also came below forecasts of 43. The index of business conditions fell sharply to 52.7 in April, from 66.6.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 188.11 points or 0.55 percent to 34,084.15, Nasdaq gained 236 points or 1.77 percent to 13,535.74 and S&P 500 was up by 43.44 points or 1.06 percent to 4,159.12.

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×