Wall Street closed higher on Thursday, driven by tech stocks. Investor mood was upbeat on strong numbers coming in from the jobs market. All of the three most widely followed indexes closed the session in the green.

How Did the Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) jumped 260.36 points, or 0.6%, to close at 42,175.11. Twenty components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while 10 ended in negative.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 108.09 points, or 0.6%, to close at 18,190.29.

The S&P 500 advanced 23.11 points, or 0.4%, to close at 5,745.37. Eight of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the green. The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB), the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) and the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) rose 2%, 1.3% and 0.6%, respectively, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) slid 2%.

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 0.3% to 15.37. A total of 12.5 billion shares were traded on Thursday, higher than the last 20-session average of 11.8 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners by a 1.94-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. The S&P 500 recorded 50 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite posted 95 new highs and 94 new lows.

Initial Jobless Claims Fall

The Labor Department said on Thursday that initial jobless claims were 218,000, decreasing by 4,000 for the week ended Sept. 21 from the previous week’s revised level. The prior week’s number was revised up by 3,000 to 222,000. The four-week moving average was 224,750, marking a fall of 3,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The prior week's average was revised up by 750 from 227,500 to 228,250.

Continuing claims came in at 1,834,000 for the week ended Sept. 14, increasing by 13,000 from last week’s revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 8,000 from 1,829,000 to 1,821,000. The four-week moving average was 1,835,750, a decrease of 6,500 from the prior week's revised average. Last week's average was revised down by 2.000 from 1,844,250 to 1,842,250.

New applications for unemployment benefits dropping to a four-month low suggests that the labor market remains robust and fairly healthy. This indicates layoffs have remained low despite job openings declining, as seen in other reports. Investor mood was uplifted on the release of these numbers and a revised assessment of the nation’s gross domestic income from the last quarter. It was upgraded to a 3.4% rate last quarter from the initially estimated 1.3%. Stocks from the materials and tech sector made the most of this “good mood”.

Consequently, shares of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD and QUALCOMM Incorporated QCOM gained 3.4% and 2.6%, respectively. QUALCOMM currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Oil Prices Continue to Decline

Oil prices slid more than 3% on Thursday on reportage that Saudi Arabia was about to give up its $100 price target in a bid to raise output, and that other members and allies would follow suit in December.

Brent crude prices fell $1.86, or 2.5%, to settle at $71.60/barrel. WTI crude slipped $2.02, or 2.9%, to settle at $67.67/barrel.

Economic Data

Per the National Association of Realtors, pending home sales for August increased 0.6% compared with consensus of a 1% rise. The number for July remained unrevised at a 5.5% decrease.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that durable goods orders in August 2024 came in virtually unchanged. This follows a 9.9% increase in July.

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