Prior to a key monthly labor-market data on Friday and a long holiday weekend, with markets closed for the Fourth of July holiday on Monday, U.S. stocks ended at or near record territory Thursday, with the S&P 500 hitting its 35th closing high of 2021. The stock market rose as a result of a drop in jobless claims and continued growth in manufacturing activity. The Labor Department said that first-time unemployment claims fell to 364,000 last week, down from 411,000 the week before. Economists predicted a drop to 380,000. The figures come after ADP released a better-than-expected update on private-sector employment on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the manufacturing index of the Institute for Supply Management fell to 60.6 percent in June from 61.2 percent in May, slightly below Wall Street expectations. A result of higher than 50 shows that activity is increasing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.38 percent rose over 130 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at roughly 34,633, its fourth-highest close in history, as it approaches its all-time closing high of 34,777.76 set on May 7. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.13 percent finished up 0.1 percent at 14,522, just missing its record close of 14,528.33, while the S&P 500 index finished up 0.5 percent at 4,319, boosted by gains in energy XLE, +1.74 percent, health care XLV, +0.89 percent, and communication services XLC, +0.74 percent.
Krispy Kreme DNUT, +23.53 percent, which had its public debut, concluded the session with a gain of nearly 24 percent. Meanwhile, Robinhood Markets HOOD, Robinhood Markets HOOD, Robinhood Markets HOOD, Robin
made public its plans for a public offering. It will be traded under the ticker symbol “HOOD” on Nasdaq Inc. NDAQ, +0.13 percent./n
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