US stocks gain despite grim jobless report

New York, May 8 (IANS) Wall Street’s major averages closed higher as investors digested the newly-released weekly report on US jobless claims.

On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 211.25 points, or 0.89 per cent, to 23,875.89. The S&P 500 increased 32.77 points, or 1.15 per cent, to 2,881.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 125.27 points, or 1.41 per cent, to 8,979.66, Xninhua news agency reported.

Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended higher, with energy and financials up 2.47 per cent and 2.22 per cent, respectively, outpacing the rest. Consumer staples and health care, however, struggled.

The moves came after more data showed the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the US economy.

Another 3.169 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending May 2, the US Department of Labor reported Thursday. That brought the seven-week total to about 33.5 million.

Investors also gauged the possibility of normalizing economic activities as a growing number of US states planned to relax coronavirus-driven lockdowns.

“The main areas of interest will be seeing if there are any hot spots or flare ups after businesses reopen,” Kevin Matras, an analyst at Zacks Investment Research, said in a note on Thursday.

–IANS

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