US close: Stocks kick off new quarter in the green

Wall Street equities closed the first session of the new quarter in positive territory on Thursday, amid a flurry of data points.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.38% at 34,633.53, as the S&P 500 added 0.52% to 4,319.94 and the Nasdaq Composite was ahead 0.13% at 14,522.38.

The Dow closed 131.02 points higher on Thursday, extending solid gains recorded in the previous session.

Thursday's primary focus was this week's jobless claims figures from the Labor Department, which revealed that first-time jobless claims retreated to their lowest level since March 2020.

According to the Department of Labor, initial unemployment claims fell by 51,000 to 364,000 over the week ending on 26 June.

Economists had pencilled in a reading of 410,000.

Still on the macro front, global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said job cuts announced by US-based employers had tumbled 16.7% to 20,476 in June - the lowest level since June 2000.

Elsewhere, IHS Markit's US manufacturing PMI said output growth had eased as supply-chain disruptions worsened despite a "marked rise" in client demand.

The seasonally-adjusted manufacturing purchasing managers' index came to 62.1 in June, unchanged on May, but slipping slightly from the earlier flash estimate of 62.6.

Another report showed economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in June, with the US economy growing for the 13th month in a row, according to the Institute of Supply Management.

The ISM's June Manufacturing PMI came in at 60.6%, a decrease of 0.6% from the May reading of 61.2%, indicating expansion in the overall economy.

Lastly, construction spending during May was estimated to be $1.54trn, according to the Census Bureau, a 0.3% drop month-on-month when compared to the revised April estimate of $1.54trn but 7.5% above the May 2020 estimate of $1.43trn.

In the corporate space, Walgreens Boots Alliance plunged 7.41% even after it posted third-quarter results that exceeded expectations.

McCormick & Company was off 0.4%, having raised its full-year guidance after revenues topped $1.56bn as the firm continued to benefit from at-home cooking.

Dow Jones - Risers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $157.99 2.27%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $151.83 1.42%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $106.21 1.40%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $246.90 1.29%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $404.89 1.11%
American Express Co. (AXP) $166.94 1.03%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $157.08 0.99%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $177.26 0.85%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $321.54 0.83%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $53.44 0.83%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $48.71 -7.41%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $139.32 -1.21%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $374.99 -1.20%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $216.71 -0.42%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $53.94 -0.28%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $56.01 -0.23%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Boeing Co. (BA) $239.73 0.07%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $146.80 0.17%

S&P 500 - Risers

Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $99.60 6.08%
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $32.86 5.08%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $14.14 4.04%
Dxc Technology Company (DXC) $40.39 3.72%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $9.36 3.43%
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $33.07 3.31%
ConocoPhillips (COP) $62.88 3.25%
Eog Resources Inc. (EOG) $85.99 3.06%
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) $167.40 3.00%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $23.82 2.94%

S&P 500 - Fallers

DTE Energy Co. (DTE) $111.88 -13.67%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $48.71 -7.41%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $80.11 -5.73%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $311.74 -3.85%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $137.95 -3.12%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $633.07 -2.71%
Tapestry Inc. (TPR) $42.49 -2.28%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $103.19 -2.06%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $141.85 -1.96%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $169.17 -1.74%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $574.62 2.88%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $166.94 2.45%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $167.03 2.03%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $139.24 1.99%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $354.39 1.92%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $67.99 1.90%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $75.51 1.78%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $575.38 1.62%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $42.44 1.53%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $113.41 1.43%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $48.71 -7.41%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $80.11 -5.73%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $311.74 -3.85%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $137.95 -3.12%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $77.44 -2.97%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $633.07 -2.71%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $103.19 -2.06%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $141.85 -1.96%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $169.17 -1.74%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $679.31 -1.67%