US markets end higher on Thursday

24 Feb 2023 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher amid volatile trading on Thursday. The higher close on markets have reflected bargain hunting, with the Dow and the S&P 500 rebounding after ending the previous session at their lowest closing levels in a month. However, buying interest remained somewhat subdued, as interest rate concerns continued to hang over the markets following yesterday's release of the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting. The Fed minutes offered few surprised but reiterated that the central bank will continue to raise interest rates in its battle against inflation. On the sectoral front, semiconductor stocks contributed to the advance, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 3.3 percent. Considerable strength was also visible among oil service stocks, which rebounded along with the price of crude oil.

On the economic data front, the Labor Department released a report unexpectedly showing a slight drop in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended February 18th. The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 192,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level of 195,000. The dip surprised participants, who had expected jobless claims to inch up to 200,000 from the 194,000 originally reported for the previous week. Besides, revised data released by the Commerce Department showed the U.S. economy grew by slightly less than previously estimated in the fourth quarter of 2022. The report said real gross domestic product jumped by 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the previously reported 2.9 percent surge. Street had expected GDP growth to be unrevised.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 108.82 points or 0.33 percent to 33,153.91, Nasdaq gained 83.33 points or 0.72 percent to 11,590.4 and S&P 500 was up by 21.27 points or 0.53 percent to 4,012.32.

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