Wall Street is growing in the hope that the worst for the labor market is behind
US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — U.S. stock indices are rising on Thursday as US jobless claims fell for the third week in a row, giving hope that the hardest hit on the job market due to the coronavirus pandemic has passed.
The number of applications for unemployment benefits in the US over the past week fell to 4.43 million from a revised 5.24 million a week earlier.
Despite the decline, the rate is still very high, and the total number of calls over the past five weeks has reached 26 million.
“The decline in the number of initial applications for benefits is encouraging, but the damage has already been done as unemployment hit a record in the (previous) week,” said Paul Ashworth, senior US economist at Capital Economics.
Meanwhile, the PMI index, which reflects activity in the services sector of the US economy, according to preliminary estimates, in April fell to a minimum in history, while the indicator of activity in the manufacturing sector fell to its lowest level since 2009.
By 18:45 Moscow time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index grew by 1.04% to 23.720.65 points, S&P 500 – by 0.94% to 2.825.61 points, Nasdaq Composite – by 1.02% to 8.581.69 points.
The energy sector grew by 3% amid recovery in oil prices.
Retailer Target Corp said it recorded a sharp increase in online sales in March and April, which offset the decline in sales in regular stores. However, the company’s shares fell 2.3%, as profitability remains under pressure.
The price of Las Vegas Sands Corp securities rose 11% after the company predicted a quick recovery in Asia due to pent-up demand.
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