After ending yesterday’s lackluster session on opposite sides of the unchanged line, the major U.S. stock indexes turned in another mixed performance during trading on Thursday.
While the Dow moved back to the upside after Wednesday’s pullback, the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed lower for the first time in four sessions.
The Dow climbed 270.03 points or 0.6 percent to 49,266.11, bouncing back toward the record closing high set on Tuesday. The S&P 500 also crept up by 0.53 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,921.46, but the Nasdaq fell 104.26 points or 0.4 percent to 23,480.02.
The mixed performance on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
Economists currently expect employment to increase by 60,000 jobs in December after climbing by 64,000 jobs in November. The unemployment rate is expected to edge down to 4.5 percent from 4.6 percent.
The jobs data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve’s next monetary policy meeting later this month.
The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates at its January 27th-28th meeting but is seen as likely to cut rates by at least another quarter point in the coming months.
Ahead of the monthly jobs report, a report released by the Labor Department this morning showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged up by slightly less than expected in the week ended January 3rd.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims crept up to 208,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 200,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 210,000 from the 199,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Sector News
Energy stocks moved sharply higher as the price of crude oil skyrocketed, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index spiking by 4.3 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index surging by 3.6 percent.
Substantial strength was also visible among housing stocks, as reflected by the 3.4 percent jump by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.
On the other hand, networking, biotechnology and semiconductor stocks showed significant moves to the downside, contributing to the drop by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.6 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day little changed. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 edged down by less than a tenth of a percent, the German DAX Index closed just above the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index crept up by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries moved notably lower as President Donald Trump’s call to increase military spending raised concerns about the national debt. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, jumped by 4.5 basis points to 4.183 percent.
Looking Ahead
The Labor Department’s monthly jobs report is likely to be in the spotlight on Friday, although the University of Michigan’s preliminary reading on consumer sentiment in January may also attract attention.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Close Mixed For Second Consecutive Session
2026-01-08 21:16:53
