US markets end higher on Thursday

30 Dec 2022 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Thursday with Nasdaq settling over one and half percent. The rally on markets partly reflected bargain hunting, particularly among tech stocks, which moved sharply lower over the two preceding sessions. The standout gain by the Nasdaq came after the tech-heavy index ended Wednesday's trading at its lowest closing level in over two years. On the sectoral front, semiconductor stocks showed a substantial rebound on the day, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index spiking by 3.3 percent after ending Wednesday's trading at its lowest closing level in well over a month. Software, networking and computer hardware stocks also saw strength, contributing to the surge by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Oil service, biotechnology and housing stocks also showed strong moves to the upside, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

On the economic data front, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by slightly more than expected in the week ended December 24th, according to a report released by the Labor Department. The report said initial jobless claims crept up to 225,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 216,000. Street had expected jobless claims to inch up to 222,000. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 221,000, a decrease of 250 from the previous week's revised average of 221,250. The report also said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also climbed by 41,000 to 1.710 million in the week ended December 17th.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 345.09 points or 1.05 percent to 33,220.8, Nasdaq surged 264.8 points or 2.59 percent to 10,478.09 and S&P 500 was up by 66.06 points or 1.75 percent to 3,849.28.

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