4:05pm: Stocks shed weight at the close
Wall Street was in the red at Thursday's close, with all three major indices trading below opening levels.
The S&P 500 lost 0.30% to sit at 4,779 points while the Dow sank 0.25% to finish at 36,398 points. The tech-laden Nasdaq had a better day but still not enough to finish in the green, closing at 15,742 points for a 0.16% retreat on the day.
12:05pm: Tech stocks in demand
US markets held firm at midday helped by some positive economic data, with the tech-laden Nasdaq back on a charge.
As of noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 27 points, or 0.1% higher at 36,516, while the S&P 500 index added 0.2% but the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6%.
Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at online trading group IG, commented: “Today brought a rare data point worth considering, with unemployment claims dropping back below the 200k threshold for just the third time in 22-months. Next week brings the latest US jobs report, with traders keeping an eye out for signs that the Omicron wave is having a detrimental impact on the economic recovery.”
The IG analyst noted that the report on jobless claims “does highlight how things appear relatively stable in the face of rising COVID cases.”
Meanwhile, an impressive rise in the December Chicago PMI survey helped allay fears after a sharp decline in November.
“Crucially, we are seeing businesses attempt to stockpile in a bid to overcome supply chain disruptions that have dominated recent months,” Mahony pointed out.
9.45am: Jobless claims near record low
US blue chips edged higher in early trade on Thursday as solid weekly jobless claims data indicated that a recent rise in coronavirus (COVID-19) infections hasn’t led to a surge in layoffs.
After a quarter of a hour of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 122 points, or 0.3% higher at 36,611, while the broader S&P 500 added 0.1%, though the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite was flat.
US initial jobless claims for the week ended December 25, 2021, fell to a seasonally adjusted 198,000 applications from a revised 206,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said, just above the 188,000 level recorded earlier in December, the lowest level since 1969.
Last week’s four-week moving average, which smooths out volatility, fell to the lowest level since October 1969.
6.45am: Flat start predicted
US stocks were expected to open fairly flat on Thursday as investors await the latest US weekly jobless claims data for clues as to how the rise in Omnicron coronavirus (COVID-19) variant infections is hurting the labor market.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat, while those for the broader S&P 500 ticked up less than 0.1%, but contracts for the tech-laden Nasdaq-100 edged 0.2% higher.
On Wednesday the Dow closed 0.3% higher, with the S&P 500 up 0.1%, but the Nasdaq Composite ended down 0.1% amid lower-than-average trading volumes with many investors still off for the holiday season.
Despite COVID-19 cases hitting a record in the US, some investors expect that high vaccination rates and signs of milder symptoms caused by the Omicron variant mean the economy will avoid a repeat of the disruption seen at the start of the pandemic, although policymakers are focused on hospitalizations rather than cases and are seeking to avoid stricter containment measures.
Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst, Asia Pacific at OANDA commented: "Omicron fears continued to fade overnight, in North America at least, propelling the S&P 500 and Dow Jones to record closes, lifting oil prices, and weighing on the US Dollar. Even gold managed to recoup most of its intra-day losses as optimistic long positions were once again culled.
"The upbeat mood was helped along by better than expected US Retail Sales and larger than expected drops in US crude oil and gasoline inventories, suggesting that despite the current virus wave, the US domestic economy continues to power forward. A dearth of heavy-duty data releases globally this week continues to leave markets driven by sentiment and by sentiment, I mean omicron headlines."
The latest US weekly jobless claims data will be released at 8.30am ET with economists expecting that first-time applications for unemployment benefits will stay near the level seen in the previous week ended December 25, 2021.
On the corporate front, after gains on Wednesday, Biogen shares fell in pre-market trading after Samsung Biologics called a media report that it was about to buy the company “not true.”