WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have given back some ground after an early move to the upside but remain mostly positive in afternoon trading on Thursday. While the Nasdaq has pulled back off its best levels, the tech-heavy index continues to outperform its counterparts.
Currently, the Nasdaq is up 113.66 points or 0.8 percent at 14,969.29, while the S&P 500 is up 17.00 points or 0.4 percent at 4,756.21.
The narrower Dow has spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line but is currently up 29.82 points or 0.1 percent at 37,296.49.
The jump by the Nasdaq partly reflects a surge by shares of Apple (AAPL), with the tech giant spiking by 3.0 percent in premarket trading after Bank of America upgraded its rating on the company's stock to Buy from Neutral.
Meanwhile, a 2.6 percent slump by shares of UnitedHealth (UNH) has limited the upside for the Dow after rival health insurer Humana (HUM) provided disappointing guidance.
The strength in the broader markets comes as some traders look to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following the pullback seen to start the week, which dragged the Dow down to its lowest closing level in almost a month.
Buying interest remains somewhat subdued, however, as treasury yields have advanced following the release of a Labor Department report showing an unexpected decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended January 13th.
The report said initial jobless claims fell to 187,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's revised level of 203,000.
Economists 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.
Sector News
Semiconductor stocks continue to see substantial strength on the day, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging by 2.4 percent.
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) has helped lead the sector higher, spiking by 7.2 percent after reporting better than expected fourth quarter results and providing upbeat guidance.
Considerable strength has also emerged among airline stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. The index is bouncing off its lowest closing level in over a month.
Networking stocks are also seeing notable strength, while interest rate-sensitive utilities stocks remain under pressure, dragging the Dow Jones Utility Average down by 1.3 percent to a nearly two-month intraday low.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. While Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed by 0.8 percent, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index closed marginally lower and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index slid b 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index advanced by 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have climbed off their worst levels but remain in negative territory. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.8 basis points at 4.134 percent.
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