Wall Street gains as markets look to aid package, Nasdaq closes above 11,000
Shares on Wall Street shrugged off a sluggish start and closed higher on Thursday, with the Nasdaq ending the session above 11,000 for the first time as investors hoped for a new fiscal stimulus package.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 185.46 points, or 0.68%, to 27,386.98, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 21.39 points, or 0.64%, to 3,349.16 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 109.67 points, or 1%, to 11,108.07.
The benchmark S&P 500 and blue-chip Dow were about 1% and 7% away from their own peaks scaled in February.
Economic data released on Thursday painted a mixed picture as U.S. Labor Department numbers showed a first fall in jobless claims in three weeks, although a separate report showed a 54% surge in job cuts announced by employers in July. The data comes ahead of the government payrolls report on Friday.
Investors are looking to the next fiscal aid package to further cope with fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday Republicans and Democrats remained far apart over what to include in another wave of relief.
Senate Republicans have been told that negotiators have until Friday to reach agreement. “If there’s not a deal by Friday, there won’t be a deal,” Republican Senator Roy Blunt told reporters on Wednesday.
Ahead of the deadline for a new stimulus package, the focus now shifts to the July jobs report Friday morning, with analysts forecasting a rise of 1.58 million new jobs last month and a decline in the unemployment rate to 10.5%.
Reference: Reuters
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