On Thursday, the major stock indexes on Wall Street posted small daily increases.
Crude oil prices are rising, which is boosting energy stocks.
After the opening bell, defensive sectors trade in the negative region.
On Thursday, the major stock indices on Wall Street opened slightly higher. The S&P 500 Index was trading at a new all-time high of 4,303 as of this writing, up 0.17 percent on the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.06 percent at 34,527, while the Nasdaq Composite is almost flat at 14,555.
Earlier in the day, the US Department of Labor released statistics showing that weekly Initial Jobless Claims decreased to 364,000, the lowest level since March 2020, and this helped market mood improve.
The Energy Index is up 1.75 percent among the 11 key S&P 500 sectors, boosted by a 3.4 percent increase in US crude oil prices. The barrel of West Texas Intermediate surged above $76 for the first time since October 2018, boosted by news that OPEC+ may discuss extending output restrictions until the end of 2022.
The protective Real Estate and Utilities indexes, on the other hand, are down slightly after the opening bell./n
