4.05pm: Nasdaq gives up early gains after entering correction territory
US stocks finished the trading session lower as jobless claims for the week ending January 15 hit their highest level since October.
At the close, the Dow slipped 314 points to 34,714, while the S&P 500 eased 50 points at 4,483 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 186 points to 14,154.
Notable movers included shares of Peloton Interactive, which sank more than 20% following a media report that the company is temporarily halting production of its connected fitness products as consumer demand wanes.
12:05pm: US indices in green
US stocks continued to climb up midday on Thursday as Nasdaq 100 moved into the correction territory after a firm opening. The investors, meanwhile, are eyeing positive earnings reports and fresh unemployment claims which were highest last week since October.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index jumped 379 points, or 1%, at 35,407; while the broader S&P 500 and tech-laden Nasdaq Composite both gained 1.2% and 1.6%, respectively.
“A wave of buying has lifted US markets from the lows of the week, and a near-2% gain for the Nasdaq 100 suggests that the slump in that index over the past month has finally got some investors excited about the chance to go bargain-hunting in growth stocks,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG.
However, the analyst noted, “Only time will tell us whether this bounce can last longer than others so far this month, and with a Fed meeting and tech earnings still to come in January it promises to be a bumpy ride.”
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9.45am: US stocks start ahead
US shares started higher on Thursday with the Nasdaq bouncing back from a 10% plunge on Wednesday.
The tech heavy index was up around 154 points, or around 1%, at 14,494 in early deals in New York.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 107 points to stand at 35,136. The broader-based S&P 500 added around 20 points, or 0.46% to 4,553.
It came as markets also digested the latest weekly jobless claims data, which showed claims for unemployment benefit for the week ended January 15 came in at 286,000 - the highest level since October.
This was well above the consensus figure of 225,000 and much higher than the previous week’s figure of 231,000.
On the other hand, the Philly Fed index rose to 23.2 from 15.4, which was above the consensus of 19.0.
On the jobs, Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "Seasonal pressures pointed to a further increase in jobless claims, but only to 240K or so; this increase is much more about the hit from Omicron. It won’t last long, given that cases have now started to fall, but the near-term path of claims is now very unpredictable."
The analyst added: "The uptick in the Philly Fed index is a pleasant surprise after the plunge in the Empire State index, reinforcing the point that they often diverge month-to-month, though they follow the same broad trends over time."
6.30am: US stocks seen opening up
US stocks are expected to attempt another break higher after sinking back into the red in late Wednesday trade as investors continue to weigh up corporate earnings reports amid rising bond yields.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.49% in Thursday pre-market trading, while the broader S&P 500 index added 0.59% and those for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 gained 0.9%.
Stocks headed south shortly before the market close on Wednesday as investors mulled over the likelihood of a March interest-rate hike.
The Dow fell 0.96% to 35,029, while the S&P 500 shed 0.97% to 4,533 and the Nasdaq dropped 1.15% to 14,340.
“Concerns over rising inflation remain as real as ever, along with worries about how much damage consistently higher prices could do to consumer confidence, as well as wider demand,” commented Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
“US markets, despite trying to rebound, were unable to hold onto their gains, sliding lower despite US Treasury yields coming off their highs of the day to finish lower on the day, unlike German and UK yields which managed to hold up close to their multi-year highs.
“There seems little doubt that the Fed will move on rates in March, and with a meeting due next week, there has been fevered speculation this week that the Fed might go for a 50bps hike when it does finally pull the trigger.”