Nasdaq jumps 2% as US stocks notch 4th straight win ahead of June jobs report
Chip stocks helped fuel a bear-market rally on the Nasdaq. US stocks are enjoying a relief bounce following a terrible first half of the year.
Andrew Kelly/Reuters
- US stocks closed higher Thursday, stretching gains into a fourth consecutive session.
- Chip stocks helped push the Nasdaq Composite up by more than 2%.
- Weekly jobless claims rose ahead of the June jobs report due on Friday.
US stocks ended higher Thursday, with tech shares contributing to an extension of a bear-market rally as investors prepared to assess the health of the US job market.
The Nasdaq Composite was the strongest performer among Wall Street's big indexes, but all three gauges notched their fourth consecutive wins. Chip makers including Intel and Nvidia were among gainers after Samsung, the world's largest chipmaker, issued a solid second-quarter earnings outlook.
Large-cap tech stocks, which are sensitive to rising interest rates, rose in the face of climbing bond yields, including the 10-year Treasury retaking the 3% level.
"Risk assets are bouncing after the strong sell-off in commodities over the past few days as investors position for [Friday's] jobs report. The report should help investors gauge how far Fed rate increases will need to go to temper the strong labor market," Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, told Insider.
Here's where US indexes stood at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday:
- S&P 500: 3,902.62, up 1.5%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 31,384.55, up 1.12% (346.87 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 11,621.35, up 2.28%
On Friday, the Labor Department is expected to say the economy added 270,000 nonfarm jobs in June, with the estimate coming from Econoday. That would mark a slowdown from May's print of 390,000 jobs added.
Earlier Thursday, the government said weekly claims for unemployment benefits rose by 4,000 to 235,000, the highest amount in six months. The reading was higher than estimates of 230,000 claims.
"We remain cautious heading into second-quarter earnings season. High inflation and higher interest rates pressured price earnings multiples in the first half of the year," said Haworth. "So far this year earnings expectations have trickled higher, but second-quarter results and perhaps cautious corporate guidance may reverse that trend as companies confront the challenges in hiring and pricing."
Around the markets, meme stock and videogames retailer GameStop rose after the company said it plans a 4-for-1 stock split. Also, Bed Bath & Beyond soared as the company's interim chief executive Sue Gove bought $230,500 worth of shares in the struggling retailer.
A Russian court has ordered the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which transports oil from Kazakhstan to the Black Sea, to suspend operations for 30 days. The block could pull 1 million barrels a day from Europe's supply.
Shell logged an extra $1 billion from oil refining in three months as gas prices soared.
Oil prices spiked higher after their recent descent into a bear market. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 4.2% to $102.69 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, tacked on 5% to trade at $104.75.
Gold edged up 0.1% at $1,738.90 per ounce. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed seven basis points to 3%.
Bitcoin gained 4.8% to $21,366.14.