US markets end higher on easing concerns about Omicron variant of the coronavirus

24 Dec 2021 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Thursday, extending the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions, on easing concerns about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.  Separate studies have indicated the new strain poses a lower risk of severe disease and hospitalization than the Delta variant. Traders were also reacting to a slew of U.S. economic data, including reports on weekly jobless claims, durable goods orders and personal income and spending. The Labor Department released a report before the start of trading showing first-time claims for US unemployment benefits came in flat in the week ended December 18th. The report said initial jobless claims were unchanged from the previous week's revised level of 205,000. Street had expected jobless claims to edge down to 205,000 from the 206,000 originally reported for the previous week.

A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed new orders for US manufactured durable goods spiked much more than expected in the month of November. The Commerce Department said durable goods orders surged up by 2.5 percent in November following a revised 0.1 percent uptick in October. Street expected durable goods orders to jump by 1.6 percent compared to the 0.4 percent drop that had been reported for the previous month. On the sectoral front, Tobacco stocks skyrocketed over the course of the session, driving the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index up by 4.1 percent to its best closing level in a month. Significant strength was also visible among transportation stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Transportation Average.

Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 196.67 points or 0.55 percent to 35,950.56, Nasdaq rose 131.48 points or 0.85 percent to 15,653.37 and S&P 500 was up by 29.23 points or 0.62 percent to 4,725.79.

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