The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq chain losses following the rise in unemployment insurance claims

Dec 8 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 (.SPX) ended higher on Thursday, ending a five-game losing streak as investors interpreted data showing a rise in weekly jobless claims as a sign that the pace of interest rate hikes may soon slow.

Major Wall Street indexes have come under pressure in recent days, with the S&P 500 losing 3.6% since early December on expectations of a longer rate hike cycle and pessimistic economic views from some executives. companies.

Such thinking had also weighed on the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), which had posted four straight losing streaks ahead of Thursday’s advance in the tech-heavy index.

Stocks rose as investors cheered data showing the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose moderately last week, while unemployment figures hit a 10-month high towards the end november.

The report follows data last Friday that showed U.S. employers hired more workers than expected in November and raised wages, sparking fears the Fed might stick to its aggressive stance to rein in high inflation. for decades.

Markets have been swayed by data releases in recent days as investors lack certainty ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve forecast for interest rates.

Such behavior means that Friday’s producer price index and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey will likely determine whether Wall Street can build on Thursday’s rally.

“The market has to adjust to the fact that we are moving from an economy based on stimulus – both fiscal and monetary – to an economy based on fundamentals, and that is what we are facing right now” said Wiley Angell, chief market strategist at Ziegler Capital Management.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 183.56 points, or 0.55%, to close at 33,781.48; the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 29.59 points, or 0.75%, to end at 3,963.51; and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 123.45 points, or 1.13%, to 11,082.00.

Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors rose, led by a 1.6% gain in technology stocks (.SPLRCT).

Most mega-cap tech and growth stocks advanced. Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) rose between 1.2% and 6.5%.

Microsoft Corp ended up 1.2% despite giving up some intraday gains after the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit seeking to block the giant’s $69 billion bid technology to buy Activision Blizzard Inc. The “Call of Duty” game maker closed down 1.5%.

The energy index (.SPNY) was the exception, falling 0.5%, despite Exxon Mobil Corp’s (XOM.N) gaining 0.7% after announcing that it would extend its program of $30 billion share buyback. The sector had been under pressure in recent sessions due to falling commodity prices: US crude is now near its level at the start of 2022.

Meanwhile, Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) rose 3.2% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the maker’s COVID-19 injections of vaccines that target both the coronavirus of origin and sub-variants of Omicron for use in children from the age of six months.

The regulator also approved similar guidelines for fellow COVID vaccine maker Pfizer Inc (PFE.N), which rose 3.1%, and partner BioNTech, whose U.S.-listed shares gained 5.6%. %.

Rent the Runway Inc (RENT.O) posted its biggest single-day gain, jumping 74.3%, after the clothing rental company raised its 2022 revenue forecast.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.07 billion shares, compared to an average of 10.90 billion for the full session over the past 20 trading days.

The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and three new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 82 new highs and 232 new lows.

Reporting by Shubham Batra, Ankika Biswas, Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru and David French in New York; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi, Sriraj Kalluvila, Anil D’Silva and Richard Chang

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