© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A trader works on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 14, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
By Echo Wang
(Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes closed higher on Thursday, led by growth stocks in light trade, as U.S. unemployment data signaled a Federal Reserve interest rate hike. states may begin to reduce the strength of the labor market in an effort to combat inflation.
All 11 industry indexes increased, in which media and technology services were the strongest gainers with an increase of nearly 3%.
“It’s a relief,” said Keith Buchanan, portfolio manager at GLOBALT Investments in Atlanta. “The recent selling pressure has overwhelmed the market and we may take a break. That allows the stock to move and on lower volume (that) could turn out to be a pretty good day.”
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:), Alphabet (NASDAQ:) Inc, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:) and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:), whose shares have been battered over the past few sessions, are each up more than 2.5%.
The US Department of Labor reported an increase in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits last week. But data shows that the US job market is tightening even as the Fed tries to cool labor demand in an attempt to bring down inflation.
Yields fell 2.2 basis points to 3.864% on the news.
The Fed’s aggressive rate hikes have hit equities this year, with the S&P 500 down 19.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq down nearly 33%.
The technology, consumer discretionary and media services sectors – home to some rate-sensitive high-growth stocks – have fallen between 29% and 40% this year, making them the most profitable sectors. The worst performer among the S&P 500 industry indexes.
Energy stocks bucked the trend with a stellar year-over-year gain of 57%.
Wall Street’s main indexes fell more than 1% on Wednesday, with the Index closing at a 2022 low as rising COVID cases in China and geopolitical tensions added to concerns about the coronavirus. the possibility of an economic recession in 2023.
However, investor preference for high-yield stocks with steady earnings capped losses in 2019, falling only 8.5% on the year.
The Dow rose 345.09 points, or 1.05%, to 33,220.8; The S&P 500 rose 66.06 points, or 1.75%, to 3,849.28; and Nasdaq Composite rose 264.80 points, or 2.59%, at 10,478.09.
Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:) Inc rose after CEO Elon Musk told employees they shouldn’t be “disturbed by the stock market frenzy.”
In 2022, Tesla’s 66% decline and Amazon.com’s 50% decline contributed largely to the 38% decline in the S&P 500 consumer discretionary industry. About $1.6 trillion in stock value. The stock has evaporated after investors abandoned high-growth stocks with expensive multipliers.
Volume on US exchanges was 8.78 billion shares, compared with an average of 10.95 billion shares for the full session over the past 20 trading days.
Issues rose more than issues fell on the NYSE by a ratio of 4.80 to 1; on Nasdaq, a ratio of 4.30 to 1 favors the bulls.
The S&P 500 posted a new 52-week high and no new low; Nasdaq Composite recorded 75 new highs and 160 new lows.
