US close: Markets advance following surprising retail and initial jobless results
US stocks increased on Thursday amid higher-than-expected November retail sales and the lowest rate of initial jobless claims in three years.
Carmax Inc.
$68.04
10:59 02/05/24
Coach Inc.
$38.79
10:59 02/05/24
Nasdaq 100
17,541.54
12:10 02/05/24
Ross Stores Inc.
$127.68
12:09 02/05/24
Urban Outfitters Inc.
$39.40
12:09 02/05/24
The Dow Jones Industrials rose 0.36% to 17,596.34, while the S&P 500 increased 0.45% to 2,035.33 and Nasdaq went up 0.52% to 4,708.16.
Retail sales performed well above its 0.4% forecast for the month of November, rising 0.7% following higher demand in autos and clothing.
Auto sales experienced particularly strong results, increasing 1.7%.
Market analyst for IG Alastair McCraig said: “The release of US monthly retail sales figures, much better than expected, has altered the slightly gloomy feel that the lacklustre ‘Black Friday’ results had given the retail sector.
“Not that any were needed, but this does confirm that the US economy has managed to keep its recovery in place regardless of Europe’s woes.”
In the meantime, the US also recorded its lowest initial jobless claim index in three weeks on Thursday, following on from the nation’s falling unemployment rate.
Demand for regular state unemployment-insurance benefits slid 3,000 to 294,000 in the week ended 6 December. Economists had expected initial claims to experience only a 1,000 drop to 296,000.
Barclays Research said: “While initial claims have resumed their downward trend following volatility in recent weeks, we look to next week’s report to better gauge the near-term trend in continuing claims.
“On balance, labor market separations have remained at low levels thus far in Q4, and we expect this positive trend to continue in the coming months.”
The dollar advanced against both the yen and the euro while the US generic government ten-year yield was flat at 2.16%.
Meanwhile, front month West Texas crude futures fell by 2.9% to just $59.22 per barrel and front month Brent crude futures dropped 1.5% to $63.27 per barrel.
Over on COMEX, gold futures for delivery in February 2015 were also down 0.09% to $1,228.30 per ounce.
In corporate news, positive consumer data and a boost in retail sales saw the apparel sector rise. Urban Outfitters increased 7.6% to 32.29 while Coach grew 2.5% to 34.46 and Ross Stores improved by 1.7% to hit 90.82
Used-car retailer Carmax also advanced 1.04% to 59.561 following Thursday’s release of encouraging auto sales data for the month.
S&P 500 - Risers
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $16.10 +8.67%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $32.29 +7.60%
Walgreen Co. (WAG) $73.01 +7.13%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $48.33 +4.57%
Hospira Inc. (HSP) $62.08 +4.53%
Prudential Fincl Inc. (PRU) $89.79 +3.95%
Kellogg Co. (K) $67.10 +3.57%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $33.93 +3.38%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $120.78 +3.05%
Sherwin-Williams Co. (SHW) $254.21 +3.00%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $7.41 -4.63%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $22.98 -4.09%
Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) $32.10 -3.20%
QEP Resources Inc (QEP) $20.00 -3.15%
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) $10.51 -3.13%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $53.28 -3.02%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $15.16 -3.01%
Owens-Illinois Inc. (OI) $24.86 -2.51%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $16.71 -2.51%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $17.02 -2.13%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $100.27 +1.34%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $90.97 +1.08%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $83.83 +1.02%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $193.54 +0.80%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $36.70 +0.77%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $61.14 +0.76%
AT&T Inc. (T) $32.71 +0.68%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $99.73 +0.65%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $89.20 +0.60%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $47.17 +0.58%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $59.34 -1.07%
Boeing Co. (BA) $123.37 -1.02%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $96.93 -0.75%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $31.65 -0.66%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $92.69 -0.35%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $41.53 -0.17%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $16.10 +8.67%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $120.78 +3.05%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $31.15 +2.94%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $56.78 +2.74%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $77.73 +2.03%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $229.23 +1.83%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $108.39 +1.77%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $90.82 +1.70%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $69.45 +1.67%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $186.83 +1.62%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $53.28 -3.02%
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $3.93 -2.00%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $46.04 -0.78%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $20.34 -0.73%
Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $109.96 -0.66%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $62.31 -0.54%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $87.32 -0.52%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $54.71 -0.51%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $104.31 -0.51%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $208.88 -0.46%