WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday, although volume was relatively light following the Christmas Day holiday on Wednesday. The major averages climbed to new record closing highs, with the Nasdaq closing above 9,000 for the first time ever.
The major averages saw further upside going into the close, ending the session at their best levels of the day. The Dow rose 105.94 points or 0.4 percent to 28,621.39, the Nasdaq advanced 69.51 points or 0.8 percent to 9,022.39 and the S&P 500 climbed 16.53 points or 0.5 percent to 3,239.91.
The markets continued to benefit from recent upward momentum, which has helped stocks continually reach new record highs in recent sessions.
The likely signing of a phase one U.S.-China trade deal has helped to maintain positive sentiment on Wall Street over the past couple weeks.
Stocks have continued to trudge higher despite a lack of major catalysts, with traders seemingly reluctant to cash in on recent gains amid worries about missing out on further upside.
Window dressing and the so-called Santa Claus rally may continue to propel stocks higher even as trading remains subdued due to the Christmas and New Year's Day holidays.
Adding to the positive sentiment, the Labor Department released a report showing a continued pullback in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended December 21st.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 222,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level of 235,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to drop to 224,000 from the 234,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Jobless claims fell for the second straight week after reaching their highest level since September of 2017 in the week ended December 7th.
Sector News
Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, although gold stocks extended the rally seen over the two previous sessions.
Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surged up by 1.5 percent to its best closing level in over three years.
The continued strength among gold stocks came amid a notable increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for February delivery climbing $9.60 to $1,514.40 an ounce.
Considerable strength also emerged among retail stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index.
Shares of Amazon (AMZN) moved sharply higher after the online retail giant said the holiday season was 'record-breaking,' with billions of items ordered and tens of millions of Amazon devices purchased.
Meanwhile, biotechnology stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 1.6 percent.
Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (SPPI) posted a steep loss after the biopharmaceutical company said its experimental treatment for non-small cell lung cancer did not meet its primary endpoint in a mid-stage trial.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.9 percent.
Meanwhile, following the Christmas Day holiday on Wednesday, markets in Europe remained closed on Thursday in observance of Boxing Day.
In the bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction after ending the previous session moderately higher. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by less than a basis point to 1.905 percent.
Looking Ahead
Trading activity is likely to remain subdued on Friday, as traders stick to the sidelines amid a lack of major U.S. economic data.
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