U.S. stocks surged on Thursday, buoyed by encouraging labor market data that eased fears of an impending economic downturn.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 683 points, or 1.8%, while the S&P 500 climbed 2.3%, marking its strongest day this year.
The Nasdaq Composite surged 2.9%, its biggest one-day gain since February.
New figures from the Department of Labor revealed that initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped to 233,000 last week, down from the previous week’s revised total of 250,000.
Economists had anticipated 240,000 new jobless claims for the week ending August 3.
The latest data offered a welcome reprieve after a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed the economy added only 114,000 jobs last month—far below the 200,000 monthly average.
However, the report wasn’t entirely positive.
Continuing claims, which track those receiving unemployment benefits for at least a week, increased to 1.88 million for the week ending July 27, marking the ninth consecutive week at or above this level.
While jobless claims data is notoriously volatile and subject to revision, it still hovers near pre-pandemic levels, suggesting a labor market that, despite some challenges, remains resilient.
This news injected a dose of optimism into Wall Street, with investors finding some relief in the signs of stability amidst an otherwise uncertain business environment.
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