S&P 500 and Nasdaq end losing streaks amid increasing unemployment claims

The S&P 500 SPX As investors took data showing an increase in weekly jobless claims as a hint that the pace of interest rate hikes may soon slow, the market closed higher on Thursday, breaking a five-session losing run.

The S&P 500 has lost 3.6% since the start of December due to predictions of a lengthier rate-hike cycle and pessimistic economic assessments from some senior company leaders. Wall Street's major indexes have been under pressure lately.

The Nasdaq Composite had also been affected by such reasoning. IXIC prior to Thursday's increase on the tech-heavy index, which had recorded four consecutive losing sessions.

Stocks surged as investors hailed data indicating a slight increase in the number of Americans requesting unemployment benefits last week, but the unemployment rate rose to its highest level in ten months near the end of November.

Recent data releases have influenced markets, as investors lack confidence ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate guidance next week.

As a result, it is likely that Friday's producer price index and the consumer confidence survey from the University of Michigan will determine if Wall Street can continue its climb from Thursday.

According to Wiley Angell, chief market strategist at Ziegler Capital Management, "the market has to react to the idea that we're shifting from a stimulus-based economy - both fiscal and monetary - into a fundamentals-based economy, and that's what we're wrestling with right now."

DAWN JOHNSON INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE DJI the S&P 500 gained 183.56 points, or 0.55%, to close at 33,781.48. SPX the Nasdaq Composite finished at 3,963.51, up 29.59 points, or 0.75%. IXIC at 11,082.00, 123.45 points, or 1.13%, were added.

In the top nine of the top 11 S&P 500 sectors, technology stocks saw gains of 1.6%. S5INFT. The majority of mega-cap growth and technology stocks rose. iPhone Inc. AAPL NVIDA Corporation NVDA plus Amazon.com Inc. AMZN increased by 1.2% to 6.5%. Google Inc. MSFT

As the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint to halt the internet giant's $69 billion offer to acquire Activision Blizzard Inc., the stock ended 1.2% higher despite giving up some intraday gains.

ATVI. The maker of the video game "Call of Duty" finished 1.5% lower. The index of energy SPN Despite Exxon Mobil Corp., was an outlier, falling 0.5%. XOM gained 0.7% after revealing that its $30 billion share repurchase programme would be expanded. Recent sessions had seen pressure on the industry as commodity prices fell, including U.S. oil.

CL1! is presently circling close to where it was at the beginning of 2022. The regulator also gave identical instructions to Pfizer Inc., a competing COVID vaccine manufacturer. PFE, up 3.1%, and its partner BioNTech, whose shares are listed on the American Stock Exchange BNTX grew by 5.6%.

10.07 billion shares were traded on U.S. exchanges, which is lower than the 10.90 billion average for the entire session for the previous 20 trading days. The Nasdaq Composite registered 82 new highs and 232 new lows, while the S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and three new lows.