US close: Stocks make gains as investors pin hopes on Fed

Dec 07, 2023

Wall Street's primary stock indices concluded the trading day in positive territory on Thursday, with market participants appearing to push aside uncertainties over potential interest rate hikes, as the Federal Reserve's key decision approached next week.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5% at 33,833.61, while the S&P 500 rose 0.62% to end the day at 4,293.93.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced the most among the three indices, posting a gain of 1.02% to settle at 13,238.52.

In currency markets, the dollar remained largely stable against sterling at 79.62p, while it slipped 0.01% against the common currency to trade at 92.74.

The yen also saw slight gains on the greenback, as the latter dipped 0.03% to change hands at JPY 138.88.

"US markets have moved higher on hopes that the Fed will opt to leave its hiking campaign on pause for longer, after jobless claims came in weaker than expected," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp earlier.

"This week has seen signs of broadening participation in the rally, with the Dow managing to recoup some losses, though once again it the Nasdaq 100 that is leading the way while small caps are in fact losing ground.

"Much now hangs on what the Fed says and does next week, and will see increasingly hesitant trading in stocks as the decision nears."

Initial jobless claims spike to highest levels in 18 months

On the economic front, tight conditions in the US labour market showed signs of relaxation last week, as the number of initial jobless claims spiked to their highest level since October 2021.

The Department of Labor's latest data revealed an unexpected surge in first-time unemployment filings, with the seasonally-adjusted figures indicating that the number of first-time jobless claims climbed 28,000 in the week ended 3 June, bringing the total to 261,000.

That exceeded economists’ predictions for an increase from the initial estimate of 232,000 to just 235,000 for the previous week.

The four-week moving average of claims - a less volatile measure - also saw an uptick, rising by 7,500 to a total of 237,250.

Meanwhile, the number of secondary unemployment claims - those filed by individuals who had previously claimed - fell by 37,000 for the week ended 27 May, settling at 1.757 million.

"One week's worth of data is nowhere near enough evidence, but other indicators have been signalling a jump in claims for some time now, most notably the announced job cuts numbers from Challenger and the NFIB survey's measure of hiring intentions," noted Kieran Clancy at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Management changes see GameStop plunge, Warner Bros jump

In equities, Oxford Industries - a global apparel company boasting brands like Tommy Bahama - witnessed a 5.79% dip in its stock price.

The slump followed the firm's announcement of a lower full-year guidance due to cautious consumer behaviour.

Meme investor favourite GameStop meanwhile suffered a steep drop of 17.89% by the closing bell.

The slide was triggered by the abrupt departure of CEO Mike Furlong, while the firm's board opted to install activist investor Ryan Cohen as executive chairman.

On the upside, Warner Bros Discovery jumped 6.86% after the broadcasting and entertainment conglomerate dismissed Chris Licht, the contentious head of its CNN news division.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Dow Jones - Risers

Boeing Co. (BA) $218.17 2.92%Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $209.57 1.85%Intel Corp. (INTC) $31.82 1.73%Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $490.23 1.68%Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $110.32 1.57%Apple Inc. (AAPL) $180.57 1.55%Walmart Inc. (WMT) $152.17 1.45%McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $285.80 1.38%Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $146.47 1.13%Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $160.26 1.10%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $52.78 -2.02%Visa Inc. (V) $223.05 -0.99%Nike Inc. (NKE) $106.20 -0.83%Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $174.91 -0.49%Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $234.71 -0.47%Chevron Corp. (CVX) $159.24 -0.37%Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $31.85 -0.25%American Express Co. (AXP) $171.14 -0.24%3M Co. (MMM) $100.76 -0.24%Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $220.76 -0.22%

S&P 500 - Risers

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $439.03 4.95%Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $162.32 4.33%Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $78.40 3.05%Boeing Co. (BA) $218.17 2.92%Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $69.00 2.89%Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $385.10 2.76%Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $121.05 2.73%O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $906.68 2.67%Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $228.08 2.52%Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $124.25 2.49%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Fiserv Inc. (FI) $114.23 -100.00%Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $30.74 -6.02%Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $7.43 -4.50%Eastman Chemical Co. (EMN) $80.42 -3.98%Mosaic Company (MOS) $34.93 -3.72%Sealed Air Corp. (SEE) $38.88 -3.57%Ventas Inc. (VTR) $44.74 -3.56%Avery Dennison Corp. (AVY) $166.54 -3.29%CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $1.77 -3.26%Western Union Co. (WU) $11.78 -3.20%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $36.15 5.42%Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $439.03 4.95%Tesla Inc (TSLA) $234.86 4.58%Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $78.40 3.05%T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $130.32 2.98%Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $385.10 2.76%O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $906.68 2.67%Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $228.08 2.52%Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $124.25 2.49%Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $332.58 2.44%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Fiserv Inc. (FI) $114.23 -100.00%Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $9.29 -5.01%Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $7.43 -4.50%Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $1.02 -2.86%Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $65.32 -2.59%J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $172.24 -1.77%DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $38.71 -1.73%Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $107.67 -1.30%Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $110.96 -0.85%Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $78.18 -0.81%