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On June 14, 2021, line workers at Ford Motor Company’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, assemble the 2021 Ford Bronco.
Getty Images/AFP/AFP/AFP/AFP/AFP/AFP/AFP/AFP
Stocks ended the day higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 setting a new high, as weekly unemployment claims came in better than predicted. The
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a stock market index that measures how well
The stock increased by 131 points, or 0.4 percent. The
S&P 500 Index
The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent to a new high of 4,319.93, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5 percent.
The Nasdaq Composite Index
The stock price increased by 0.1 percent.
In the most recent week, initial unemployment claims fell to 364,000, beating expectations of 390,000 claims and setting a new historic low. The ADP payrolls report, released on Wednesday, also exceeded forecasts. Investors are watching job numbers to see if the economy is still on track to recover. The result of the jobless claims appears to have been regarded positively. “Initial claims continued to shrink, indicating a broadly optimistic, albeit indirect, outlook for labor markets,” writes Citigroup economist Andrew Hollenhorst. “We anticipate this to continue.” Others have expressed similar feelings. “This morning’s jobless claims beat is a very bright spot,” writes Cliff Hodge, Cornerstone Wealth’s chief investment officer. “Not only did we print the lowest number since the epidemic began, but it also reversing a recent trend of misses.” Furthermore, value stocks outperformed growth. Value companies’ earnings are more vulnerable to economic shifts, whereas growth companies’ earnings are more dependent on long-term industry changes. The most recent data has set the tone for the June jobs report, which is slated to be released on Friday. Payrolls are expected to rise by 706,000 people. The market wants to see a large number of new jobs created, but not so many that the Federal Reserve is compelled to act quickly to slow the economy. “Markets will desire ‘Goldilocks’ data to start the quarter,” writes Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research, “in that the statistics reflect good activity, but nothing that would prompt the Fed to taper more aggressively.” Separately, the purchasing managers index of the Institute for Supply Management fell to 60.6 in June from 61.2 in May. Nonetheless, the data suggested manufacturing growth for the seventh month in a row.
The
225 Nikkei
In Tokyo, the stock market fell 0.3 percent, with other major markets following suit. Hong Kong was shut down. In Europe, on the other hand, the Stoxx Europe 600 index increased 0.6 percent. The opening half was dominated by the
The MSCI Asia-Pacific index is a measure of how well a country’s economy is
In monetary terms, it increased by 4%, whereas the
MSCI Europe is a stock market index that measures the performance
The index increased by 10%. The United States of America
S&P 500 Index
The first half of the year was even better, with a 14 percent increase.
Curevac’s (CVAC) stock is down 7.66 percent after data revealed that their latest Covid-19 vaccine was just 48% effective.
Novavax (NVAX), a vaccine producer with better trial outcomes, gained 1.6 percent.
Walgreens Boots Alliance is a joint venture between Walgreens and Boots.
(WBA) stock slumped 7.4% after the company reported a profit of $1.51 per share on $34 billion in revenue, exceeding projections of $1.17 per share.
Micron Technology is a type of semiconductor.
(MU) shares fell 5.7 percent after the company reported a profit of $1.88 per share, topping analysts’ expectations of $1.71 per share, on sales of $7.4 billion, which exceeded projections of $7.2 billion.
Thor Industries is a company that specializes in manufacturing
The stock of THO increased 3.1 percent after Citigroup upgraded it to Buy from Neutral.
Hawaiians were the first to arrive in America.
(FHB) climbed 3.4 percent after Wells Fargo upgraded it from Underweight to Equal Weight.
Polaris
(PII) stock fell 1.9 percent after Longbow downgraded it from Buy to Neutral. Jacob Sonenshine can be reached at jacob.sonenshine@barrons.com./n
