US markets settle higher on Thursday

06 Aug 2021 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Thursday following the release of a report from the Labor Department showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for US unemployment benefits in the week ended July 31st. The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 385,000, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level of 399,000. Street had expected jobless claims to dip to 384,000 from the 400,000 originally reported for the previous week. The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 394,000, a decrease of 250 from the previous week's revised average of 394,250. On the sectorl front, Airline stocks showed a substantial rebound on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 4.3 percent following a 2.4 percent nosedive on Wednesday. Significant strength also emerged among brokerage stocks, driving the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index up by 2.6 percent to its best closing level in well over a month.

However, a separate report from the Commerce Department showed the US trade deficit widened by more than expected in the month of June, reaching a new record high. The Commerce Department said the trade deficit widened to $75.7 billion in June from a revised $71.0 billion in May. Street had expected the trade deficit to widen to $74.1 billion from the $71.2 billion originally reported for the previous month. The wider than expected trade deficit came as the value of imports jumped by 2.1 percent to $283.4 billion, while the value of exports rose by 0.6 percent to $207.7 billion.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 271.58 points or 0.78 percent to 35,064.25, Nasdaq gained 114.58 points or 0.78 percent to 14,895.12 and S&P 500 was up by 26.44 points or 0.6 percent to 4,429.1.

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

×