US stocks traded higher towards the end of the session, with the Nasdaq composite gaining more than 150 points on Thursday.
The Dow Jones rose 0.76% to 34,621.33 while the NASDAQ rose 1.19% to 14,088.89. The S&P also rose, gaining 1% to 4,500.69.
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Leading and Lagging Sectors
Information technology stocks jumped 1.9% on Thursday. Meanwhile, top earners in the industry included Evolv Technologies Holdings, Inc. EVLVup 24% and GreenBox POS GBOX up 19%.
In Thursday’s trading, real estate stocks rose just 0.2%.
Superior title
Initial jobless claims in the United States fell by 28,000 to 187,000 in the week ended March 19, from a revised 215,000 in the prior period and from market estimates of 212,000. weekly unemployment fell to their lowest level since September 6, 1969.
Stock exchange rising
Evelo Biosciences, Inc. EVLO shares jumped 15% to $3.75 after the fourth quarter results.
Shares of Aptevo Therapeutics Inc. APVO received a boost, rising 28% to $6.70 after the company released its financial results for FY21.
Emclaire Financial Corporation EMCF shares also rose, gaining 32% to $38.20 after the company and Farmers National Banc Corp. announced a merger.
Stock trading down
LiqTech International, Inc. LIQT the shares fell 37% to $2.96 after reporting lackluster fourth-quarter results.
Shares of Vicinity Motor Corp. VEV fell 26% to $2.44 after the company announced a direct registered offer of $12 million.
Traeger, Inc. TO COOK was lower, falling 13% to $7.64 after the company reported fourth-quarter results. Jefferies downgraded Traeger from Buy to Hold and announced a price target of $7.
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Merchandise
In commodities news, oil traded down 1.5% at $113.22, while gold traded up 1.5% at $1,965.40.
Silver traded down 2.8% on Thursday at $25.90 while copper fell 1.1% to $4.7225.
Eurozone
European stocks closed mixed today. The Eurozone STOXX 600 fell 0.21%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.09%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 index fell 0.28%. The German DAX fell 0.07%, the French CAC 40 fell 0.39% and the Italian FTSE MIB index rose 0.42%.
The IHS Markit Eurozone manufacturing PMI fell to 57 in March from 58.2 in February. The French IHS Markit composite PMI climbed to 56.2 in March from 55.5 in February, while the German composite PMI slipped to 54.6 in March from 55.6 in February. The manufacturing sentiment indicator in France fell to an 11-month low of 106 in March.
Economy
US durable goods orders fell 2.2% month over month in February.
Initial jobless claims in the United States fell by 28,000 to 187,000 in the week ended March 19, from a revised 215,000 in the prior period and from market estimates of 212,000. weekly unemployment fell to their lowest level since September 6, 1969.
The current account deficit narrowed to $217.9 billion in the fourth quarter, from a revised $219.9 billion for the previous period.
The S&P Global Manufacturing PMI rose to 58.5 in March from 57.3 in February, while the services PMI climbed to 58.9 in March from 56.5.
U.S. natural gas supply fell by 51 billion cubic feet last week, the Energy Information Administration said.
The Kansas City Fed’s manufacturing production index climbed to 46 in March, hitting the highest level on record.
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COVID-19 Update
The United States has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 81,527,320 cases with around 1,001,170 deaths. India has confirmed a total of at least 43,014,680 cases and 516,700 deaths, while Brazil has reported over 29,729,990 cases of COVID-19 with 658,060 deaths. In total, there have been at least 476,666,310 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,129,160 deaths.
