Dow ends at record high after upbeat jobless claims report
Reuters
Published May 06, 2021 07:27AM ET
Updated May 06, 2021 06:51PM ET
By Shreyashi Sanyal and Krystal Hu
(Reuters) - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high on Thursday, bolstered by an upbeat weekly jobless claims report, while vaccine makers dipped after U.S. President Joe Biden backed plans to waive patents on COVID-19 shots.
Lifted by Apple Inc, the S&P 500 rose after a Labor Department report showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 498,000 for the week ended May 1, compared with 590,000 in the prior week.
Investors were awaiting a more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report on Friday for clues on the strength of the labor market and potentially the U.S. Federal Reserve's stance on monetary policy.
"Investors are encouraged by the low-interest rates and the stimulus that the government is putting into the economy. We're also seeing substantial increases in economic projections and earnings forecasts," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.
Pharmaceutical companies dropped after the White House said Biden made the decision to back a proposed waiver for COVID-19 vaccine intellectual property rights.
Shares in Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Inc fell 1% or more. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Inc ended higher after spending much of the day in negative territory.
The Nasdaq biotechnology index dropped 0.4%.
Moderna's shares cut some losses after it said countries around the globe would continue buying its COVID-19 vaccine for years even if patents on the shots are waived.
The S&P 500 financials index was the top performer among the 11 sectors, gaining 1.4%.
"One sector we are seeing a lot of opportunities in is the financial sector. We see it as one that should benefit from higher interest rates and a stronger economic recovery," said Ann Guntli, portfolio manager at Chicago-based RMB Capital.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Corp, Apple (O:AAPL), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) rose more than 1%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.93% to end at 34,548.53 points, while the S&P 500 gained 0.82% to 4,201.62.
The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.37% to 13,632.84.
In extended trade, Square rose 3% after the mobile payments company announced a 266% jump in quarterly total net revenue.
During the trading session, Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) jumped 2.75% after the retailer said late on Wednesday that its April sales surged 33.5%. That rally helped push the S&P 500 consumers staple index higher.
Get The News You Want
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) rose 3.37% after the drugmaker reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit and said it expected demand for its COVID-19 antibody therapy to hold up.
Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) Inc tumbled 8.85% after it signaled it would pay drivers more to get cars back on the road as the pandemic recedes, and disclosed a $600 million charge to provide UK drivers with benefits.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.33-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.38-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 121 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 118 new highs and 155 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 11 billion shares, compared with the 10 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.