Stocks on Wall Street jumped Thursday, with a rebound in tech propelling major indices into positive territory and snapping a three-day losing streak.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% to close at 35,084.53, while the S&P 500 gained 1.2% to end at 4,419.15. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.8% to finish at 14,778.26.
The rally in tech was led by some of the biggest names in the sector, such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and Google-parent Alphabet, which all rose between 1.5% and 3.6%. The gains came ahead of their earnings reports next week, which are expected to show strong growth despite regulatory and competitive pressures.
Investors also shrugged off a disappointing report on weekly jobless claims, which rose unexpectedly to 419,000, the highest level since mid-May. The data suggested that the labor market recovery may be losing some momentum amid the spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19.
However, analysts said that the overall economic outlook remains positive, as vaccinations continue to increase and consumer spending remains robust. They also pointed to the progress in Washington on a bipartisan infrastructure deal, which could boost growth and create jobs.
"The market is looking past the near-term noise and focusing on the long-term fundamentals, which are still very strong," said David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Funds. "The tech sector is benefiting from the digital transformation of the economy, which is not going away anytime soon."
By Salam Bustanji
