US markets end higher on Thursday

19 Jan 2024 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Thursday. Tech stocks helped lead the way higher on markets, with shares of Apple jumping by 3.3 percent after Bank of America upgraded its rating on the company's stock to Buy from Neutral. A rally by semiconductor stocks contributed to the surge by the Nasdaq, as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index spiked by 3.4 percent. Besides, the rebound on markets came despite a continued increase by treasury yields, which moved higher after the Labor Department released a report showing an unexpected weekly decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits. The report said initial jobless claims fell to 187,000 in the week ended January 13th, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's revised level of 203,000.

Street had expected jobless claims to inch up to 207,000 from the 202,000 originally reported for the previous week. With the unexpected decline, jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since hitting 182,000 in the week ended September 24, 2022. Meanwhile, a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed regional manufacturing activity contracted at a slightly slower rate in the month of January. The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity rose to a negative 10.6 in January from a revised reading of negative 12.8 in December. A negative reading still indicates a contraction in regional manufacturing activity. Street had expected the index to rise to a negative 7.0 from the negative 10.5 originally reported for the previous month.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 201.94 points or 0.54 percent to 37,468.61, Nasdaq surged 200.03 points or 1.35 to 15,055.65 and S&P 500 was up by 41.73 points 0.88 percent to 4,780.94.

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

×