US markets end higher on Thursday

25 Mar 2022 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Thursday as falling jobless claims added to confidence in the U.S. economic recovery. First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in over 50 years in the week ended March 19th, according to a report released by the Labor Department. The report showed initial jobless claims slid to 187,000, a decrease of 28,000 from the previous week's revised level of 215,000. Street had expected jobless claims to edge down to 212,000 from the 214,000 originally reported for the previous week. With the bigger than expected decrease, jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since hitting 182,000 in September 1969. Besides, the rebound on Wall Street came as stocks extended the see-saw performance shown by the markets over the past few sessions.

Traders also kept an eye on any developments out of Europe, where President Joe Biden is meeting with U.S. allies in Brussels. The Biden administration has imposed additional sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, targeting dozens of Russian defense companies, 328 members of the Russian State Duma, and the head of Russia's largest financial institution. With Europe depending heavily on Russian gas for heating and power generation, the European Union is split on whether to sanction Russia's energy sector. On the sectoral front, Semiconductor stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 5.1 percent to its best closing level in over a month.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 349.44 points or 1.02 percent to 34,707.94, Nasdaq surged 269.24 points or 1.93 percent to 14,191.84 and S&P 500 was up by 63.92 points or 1.43 percent to 4,520.16.

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