US close: Stocks finish higher as jobless claims drop sharply

Wall Street stocks finished in positive territory on Thursday, as the Dow Jones tacked on a new fresh record following its same achievement in the previous session.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.93% at 34,548.53, as the S&P 500 added 0.82% to 4,201.62 and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.37% firmer at 13,632.84.

The Dow closed 318.19 points higher on Thursday, piling on to the gains recorded on Wednesday as corporate earnings and comments from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen were both in focus.

On investors' minds on Thursday, weekly jobless claims dropped sharply in the week ended 1 May, with first-time claims hitting a new Covid-19-era low.

Initial claims came to 498,000 last week, according to the Labor Department, better than estimates for a reading of 527,000 and down from the previous week's print of 590,000, which was upwardly revised from the initially reported 553,000.

On the other hand, continuing claims actually ticked higher, rising 37,000 to just below 3.7m, while the four-week moving average for claims edged down to 3.68m, the lowest since late March 2020.

Elsewhere on the macro front, labour market strength was reinforced by a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which showed job cuts announced by US employers had fallen 25% in April to 22,913, the lowest figure seen since June 2000.

In the corporate space, PayPal reversed earlier losses to close up 1.87% after the payments processor posted a 31% quarterly jump in revenues, leading technology stocks higher in the process.

Online marketplace Etsy, meanwhile, slumped 14.57% after cautioning that sales would likely slow as the Covid-19 pandemic boost began to fade away.

Anheuser-Busch jumped 6.2% after the brewing giant reported first-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street estimates, and named North American head Michel Doukeris as its next chief executive.

Cereal and snack foods peddler Kellogg rose 7.07% after it hiked its full-year sales forecast on the back of a 'strong' first-quarter performance.

Dow Jones - Risers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $52.44 2.56%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $365.97 2.33%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $148.42 2.20%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $160.69 2.01%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $337.58 1.67%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $69.04 1.43%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $249.73 1.32%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $129.74 1.28%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $135.14 1.26%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $218.05 1.23%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $237.07 -0.34%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $234.86 -0.08%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $54.46 -0.02%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $109.02 0.06%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $77.78 0.10%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $181.79 0.15%
American Express Co. (AXP) $156.88 0.31%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $141.05 0.32%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $167.74 0.40%

S&P 500 - Risers

Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $41.65 7.54%
Kellogg Co. (K) $67.53 7.07%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $13.43 5.17%
Molson Coors Beverage Co. Class B (TAP) $59.45 4.39%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $52.17 4.17%
Apartment Investment & Management Co. (AIV) $6.89 4.08%
Allstate Corp (The) (ALL) $132.62 4.06%
Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $197.42 4.05%
Affiliated Mgrs Group (AMG) $174.86 3.73%
Federal Realty Inv Trust (FRT) $113.98 3.71%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $152.85 -8.56%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $75.12 -7.78%
Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) $56.54 -7.05%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $27.81 -6.83%
MGM Resorts International (MGM) $38.91 -6.80%
Ansys Inc. (ANSS) $332.66 -6.42%
Carmax Inc. (KMX) $130.29 -5.52%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $122.78 -3.94%
AES Corp. (AES) $25.45 -3.85%
Zoetis Inc (ZTS) $167.52 -3.65%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $28.22 5.02%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $28.23 4.51%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $138.88 3.54%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $498.68 3.37%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $93.03 3.27%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $382.76 2.75%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $93.73 2.74%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $584.65 2.72%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $52.44 2.56%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $141.34 2.52%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $75.12 -7.78%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,446.34 -5.50%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $122.78 -3.94%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $164.82 -3.57%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $2,279.35 -2.51%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $52.88 -2.40%
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $20.82 -1.98%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $192.33 -1.69%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $142.59 -1.33%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $663.54 -1.10%