The stock market gained momentum on Thursday, with major indexes all seeing increases in afternoon trading following the release of new jobs data. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way, surging 1.3% as the session progressed.
In the same period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.3%, while the S&P 500 recorded a gain of 0.8%. All three major indexes maintained levels comfortably above their 50-day moving averages.
Conversely, the Russell 2000 index saw a more modest increase of 0.6%, remaining solidly above its 200-day moving average.
Volume experienced a decline on the New York Stock Exchange but saw an uptick on the Nasdaq compared to the previous day.
The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which mirrors the Nasdaq 100, climbed by 1.4%, while the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) saw a marginal increase of less than 0.1%. The 10-year Treasury yield held steady at 4.12%.
On the employment front, the Department of Labor reported 220,000 initial weekly jobless claims for the week ending Dec. 2, slightly higher than the prior week but still within acceptable limits. The upcoming nonfarm U.S. payrolls report is eagerly anticipated for early Friday.
In terms of notable stock movements, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) faced a setback, dropping nearly 2% after Amazon (AMZN) announced it would no longer accept Venmo payments starting Jan. 10. Meanwhile, Ciena (CIEN) saw an uptick following a strong fiscal fourth-quarter performance exceeding expectations.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) surged over 7% in heavy trading, leading the 30-stock index, while Veeva Systems (VEEV) experienced a decline after revising its revenue outlook for the current quarter.
Among AI-related stocks, Braze (BRZE) faced selling pressure despite positive financial results, while C3.ai (AI) struggled post its mixed fiscal second-quarter earnings report. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) saw a rebound after unveiling a new artificial intelligence chip, positioning itself as the top gainer on the S&P 500.
Alphabet (GOOGL) made significant gains after introducing its artificial intelligence software model “Gemini,” while Rivian (RIVN) rallied following a buy rating and price target initiation from Stifel.
