U.S. stocks closed higher for the third consecutive day on Thursday, with the S&P 500 hitting a record high ahead of a long Christmas holiday weekend as investors shed fears and felt more optimistic that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus won’t affect global economy growth. All the three major indexes ended in positive territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) gained 0.6% or 196.67 points to close at 35,950.56 points.
The S&P 500 jumped 0.6% or 29.23 points to finish at 4,725.79 points, hitting a new record high. The index also marked its 68th record close of the year. Consumer discretionary, industrial and materials stocks were the biggest gainers.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) gained 1.4%, while the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) advanced 1.2%. The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) increased 1%. Ten of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.9% or 131.48 points to end at 15,653.37 points. Shares of Microsoft Corporation
MSFT
gained 0.5%, while NVIDIA Corporation
NVDA
gained 0.8%. NVIDIA has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 1.53% to 14.15. A total of 8 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.8 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 2.40-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 2.22-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.
Investors Shed Omicron Fears
Thursday’s gains were primarily broad based, with industrials and technology stocks both gaining as investors felt more optimistic on reports that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus won’t derail global economies. The optimism has now continued for three days after last week saw fears of the virus once again gripping markets.
However, trading volume was low ahead of the long Christmas holiday weekend. Investors also got back some confidence on Thursday after the White House said that it doesn’t have any immediate plans of 2020-style lockdowns to fight the spread of Omicron variant.
On Thursday, investors also were greeted with the news that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s
PFE
COVID-19 pill, the first-of-its-kind oral antiviral drug against the coronavirus. Also, FDA also gave approval to Merck and Co, Inc.’s
MRK
antiviral pill for the virus on Thursday.
Economic Data
Despite markets going into holiday mood early, a batch of fresh economic data were released on Thursday. The Labor Department said on Thursday that initial jobless claims remained unchanged at 205,000 for the week ended Dec 18. This came in line with analysts’ expectations. Earlier this month, weekly claims had dropped to a 52-year low.
The four-week moving average climbed to 206,250, an increase of 2,750, from the previous week’s revised average. The average for the previous week was revised down by 250 from 203,750 to 203,500.
However, continuing claims decreased by 8,000 to 1,859,000. The previous week’s numbers were revised up by 22,000 from 1,845,000 to 1,867,000. This is also the lowest level for continuing claims since Mar 14, 2020. The 4-week moving average came in at 1,919,750, a decline of 45,000 from the previous week’s revised average.
Weekly Roundup
All the three major indexes recorded gains for the week. The Dow ended up 1.6%, while the S&P 500 climbed 2.3%. The Nasdaq jumped almost 3.2% for the week.
Infrastructure Stock Boom to Sweep America
A massive push to rebuild the crumbling U.S. infrastructure will soon be underway. It’s bipartisan, urgent, and inevitable. Trillions will be spent. Fortunes will be made.
The only question is “Will you get into the right stocks early when their growth potential is greatest?”
Zacks has released a Special Report to help you do just that, and today it’s free. Discover 5 special companies that look to gain the most from construction and repair to roads, bridges, and buildings, plus cargo hauling and energy transformation on an almost unimaginable scale.
Download FREE: How to Profit from Trillions on Spending for Infrastructure >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.
Click to get this free report