- Stocks moved mostly higher after tumbling in Wednesday’s session.
- Semiconductor stocks on Wednesday led the Nasdaq to its worst day since 2022.
- Weekly jobless claims were higher than expected, boosting rate cut hopes.
The stock market was looking to stage a rebound after a plummet in semiconductor stocks led to a losing session on Wednesday.
The chip cohort’s tumble came amid reports that the Biden administration would levy fresh restrictions on chip sales to China. However, with TSMC offering solid revenue outlooks on Thursday, confidence appeared to be returning. The slide on Wednesday marked the worst day for the Nasdaq since 2022.
Investors were also digesting new labor market data. The latest jobless claims gave investors new reason to bet on interest rate cuts, as Thursday’s report showed claims rose to their highest level in close to a year.
Initial jobless claims rose to 243,000 through the week ending July 13, above estimates for 229,000.
“Rising claims imply the labor market is cooling at a measured pace. We expect the upcoming payroll report for July to be a bit softer than the previous month,” LPL Financial chief economist Jeffrey Roach said. “We learned from the recent Beige Book that businesses are not filling open positions as aggressively as they were in previous months.”
Labor data, together with a soft June inflation report, is helping bolster market enthusiasm for borrowing costs to ease sooner than later. The odds of a September interest rate cut stand above 93%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Here’s where US indexes stood at the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Thursday:
Here’s what else is going on today:
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil slid 0.27% to $82.57 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, inched 0.29% lower to $82.12 a barrel.
- Gold shed 0.38% to $2,463.51 per ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield gained three basis points at 4.176%.
- Bitcoin climbed 1.26% to $64,932.
