US close: Stocks reverse losses to finish slightly higher

dl nyse new york stock exchange wall st street city finance dow jones nasdaq sp finance dollar dollars us usa united states of america — New York Stock ExchangeSharecast photo / Josh White

Wall Street stocks reversed earlier losses to finish higher on Thursday, as investors mulled over the Fed’s latest meeting minutes released late in the prior session, as well as data showing a tighter-than-expected jobs market.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.25% at 34,583.57, as the S&P 500 added 0.43% to 4,500.21 and the Nasdaq Composite was ahead 0.06% at 13,897.30.

The Dow closed 87.06 points higher on Thursday, clawing back some of the losses recorded on Wednesday, as market participants digested minutes from the FOMC's latest two-day policy meeting late in the day.

“Last night’s Fed minutes have recommitted the central bank to its path of tightening policy, leaving equities vulnerable in the short term after the bounce from the March lows,” said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

“While the economy continues to grow, there is a clear lack of bullish momentum in this market at the moment.”

Minutes from the Fed’s most recent meeting showed officials were looking to reduce the central bank’s trillions in bond holdings by around $95.0bn per month.

Officials "generally agreed" that a maximum of $60.0bn in Treasury notes and $35.0bn in mortgage-backed securities would be allowed to roll off, phased in over three months, starting May.

Policymakers also indicated that one or more 50 basis-point interest rate hikes might be necessary in order to battle surging inflation.

Traders also continued to monitor events in the Ukraine-Russia war, with Ukraine requesting NATO supply it with more weapons.

On the economic front, the US labour market was far tighter than previously thought, according to weekly jobless claims data from the Department of Labor.

Initial unemployment claims declined by 5,000 over the week ended on 2 April to reach just 166,000 - far less than the 205,000 print anticipated by economists at Barclays.

The four-week moving average, which aims to smooth out the fluctuations in the often volatile data from one week to the next fell by 8,000 to 170,000.

Secondary unemployment claims meanwhile, which are those not being filed for the first time and that reference the week until 26 March, edged up by 17,000 to 1.523 million.

In the corporate space, Apogee Enterprises closed down 2.86% after posting a surprise fourth-quarter loss on the back of heightened restructuring costs.

Personal lender SoFi Technologies tumbled 7.2% after taking the secateurs to its full-year outlook, with the company now assuming that the federal moratorium on student loans lasts through the rest of 2022.

On the upside, Corona beer brewer Constellation Brands jumped 4.61% after beating fourth-quarter earnings estimates by 13.4%.

HP rocketed 14.75% after Berkshire Hathaway confirmed it had built an 11% holding in the consumer technology company.

Dow Jones - Risers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $86.80 2.15%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $45.11 1.81%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $302.75 1.41%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $167.10 1.39%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $158.86 1.29%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $254.36 1.15%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $156.54 1.00%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $536.95 0.98%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $129.38 0.79%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $251.64 0.68%