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Stocks rallied Thursday, clawing back the previous session’s losses, as falling jobless claims added to confidence in the U.S. economic recovery.
The Dow Jones Industrials popped 349.44 points, or 1%, to 34,707.94.
The S&P 500 progressed 63.92 points, or 1.4%, to 4,520.16
The NASDAQ Composite leaped 269.24 points, or 1.9%, to 14,191.84.
Stocks have seesawed this week, alternating between up and down days. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ are on track to close the week higher.
All three major averages are on track to close the month higher. The S&P 500 is up 3.3% in March, the NASDAQ is 3.2% higher and the Dow is up 2.4%.
Thursday’s rally gained steam as the day went on, with technology and materials stocks leading the way.
Chip stocks climbed Thursday, with shares such as Nvidia among the favorites of traders to buy in market upswings. These chip companies also stand to benefit in a continuing global economic recovery from the pandemic. Nvidia jumped 9.8%. Intel added 6.9%, and AMD rose 5.8%.
Materials was the second-best-performing S&P 500 sector Thursday. Nucor added 4.3%, and Freeport-McMoRan rose about 3.3%.
Uber gained nearly 5% after the company announced a deal to list all New York City taxis on its app.
Investors are continuing to monitor the war in Ukraine and weigh the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes amid persistent inflation.
NATO leaders met in Brussels Thursday to discuss increasing pressure on Russia, as Ukraine appears to be retaking ground in the war.
On the data front, initial jobless claims last week totaled 187,000, the lowest level since 1969, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
Treasury prices sagged, raising yields to 2.37% from Wednesday’s 2.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded $3.56 to $111.37 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $24.90 to $1,962.00 U.S. an ounce.
