All three major averages were up Thursday morning, building on back-to-back sessions of gains as fears the Omicron variant would derail economic growth cooled among investors who sold-off risky assets at the start of the week on reports of swelling case numbers.
The Nasdaq briefly jumped 180 points, while the Dow Industrial Average and S&P 500 also edged higher.
Investors are weighing a trove of economic releases this morning. The Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims totaled 205,000, sustaining a downward trend from the highs of their pandemic peak and reflecting labor market tightness brought on by a demand for workers heading into the new year. The latest print brings the four-week moving average for new claims to its lowest in 52 years, ticking up by 2,750 week-over-week to reach 206,250.
U.S. durable goods orders rose by 2.5% in November, up from the prior month, boosted by a sharp rise in aircraft orders.
Meanwhile, U.S. consumer prices accelerated at the fastest pace in nearly four decades as shoppers confront rising inflation levels ahead of the holidays.
In Wednesday’s trading session, investors weighed an upbeat print on consumer confidence levels and the release of an upwardly revised estimate for domestic GDP, placing all three major averages in the green after a mixed open.
The Conference Board reported consumer confidence increased by a greater-than-expected margin in December, with the headline index at 115.8 during the month and higher than Bloomberg’s consensus estimates of 111.0. In November, the index had a reading of 111.9, revised from an initial report of 109.5. Meanwhile, the nation’s gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 2.3% in the third quarter in the final estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis after the initial report of 2.1%.
“We’ve been saying that this is definitely a buy the dip sort of market because we expect more earnings upgrades to come,” Anik Sen, PineBridge Investments global head of equities told Yahoo Finance Live. “We think that the real debate should be about the length and strength of the economic cycle ahead.”
The clock is also ticking on a year-end Santa Claus Rally — one in which stocks climb higher in the final seven trading sessions of a year, plus the first two trading days of the new year. Starting tomorrow, traders will see whether 92 years of data uphold.
For reasons unclear, over the past 92 years, the S&P 500 gained 77% of the time during the year-end rally period, according to data from Sundial Capital Research. The average gain in this nine-day trading period tallied 2.66%.
Separately, Oppenheimer chief investment strategist John Stoltzfus disclosed the most bullish price target on the S&P 500, forecasting a 14% climb to 5,330 by the end of 2022. The 38-year Wall Street veteran’s estimate beats even the most optimistic of his peers, BMO Capital Markets’s Brian Belski, who projected S&P 500 5,300.
Meanwile, Pfizer (PFE) received authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its at-home COVID-19 pill following clinical trial data that showed the treatment was 90% effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk patients. Shares of Pfizer gained more than 2% in Wednesday’s session following the news and closed up 1.02% at $59.55 a piece.
9:30 a.m. ET: Markets open higher following economic releases
Here were the main moves in markets at open Thursday morning.
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S&P 500 (^GSPC): +10.69 (+0.23%) to 4,707.25
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Dow (^DJI): +102.67 (+0.29%) to 35,856.56
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Nasdaq (^IXIC): +180.81 (+1.18%) to 15,521.89
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Crude (CL=F): +$0.12 (+0.16%) to $72.88 a barrel
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Gold (GC=F): +$5.30 (+0.29%) to $1,807.50 per ounce
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10-year Treasury (^TNX): +0.5 bps to yield 1.4620%
9:07 a.m. ET: Consumer prices accelerate, while spending slows
U.S. consumer prices accelerated at the fastest pace in nearly four decades. The Commerce Department reported an increase of 5.7% over the past 12 months, reflecting the fastest gain in 39 years as shoppers confront rising inflation levels ahead of the holidays.
Meanwhile, personal spending rose 0.6% in November, a slowdown from last month’s print of 1.4%. The figure, which accounts for 70% of economic activity, comes amid the latest wave of COVID-19 cases, hinting at the possibility of a broader economic slowdown.
Personal incomes rose 0.4% in November, down slightly from the 0.5% increase in October.
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8:42 a.m. ET: Durable goods orders beat expectations
U.S. durable goods orders rose by 2.5% in November, up from the prior month, boosted by a sharp rise in aircraft orders.
Core capital goods orders, a measure of business investment in equipment that excludes aircraft and military hardware, fell 0.1% after an upwardly revised 0.9% increase in October, according to Bloomberg.
The median Bloomberg estimates projected a 0.7% increase in core capital goods orders and a 1.8% rise in total durables bookings.
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8:30 a.m. ET: First-time unemployment filings remain at pre-pandemic levels
Initial jobless claims remained at pre-pandemic lows, sustaining a downward trend from the highs of their coronavirus peak and reflecting labor market tightness brought on by a demand for workers heading into the new year.
The Labor Department reported on Thursday that new initial jobless claims totaled 205,000 for the week ending December 18, on par with consensus estimates. The latest print brings the four-week moving average for new claims to its lowest in 52 years, ticking up by 2,750 week-over-week to reach 206,250.
“The direction in the labor market recovery remains positive, with demand still strong,” Rubeela Farooqi, chief economist for High Frequency Economics, wrote in a note. “Labor shortages are persisting, preventing a stronger recovery, although these appeared to ease somewhat in November.”
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7:00 a.m. ET: Contracts on Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq edge higher ahead of open
Here’s how markets were moving in early trading on Thursday:
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S&P 500 futures (ES=F): +13.75 points (+0.29%), to 4,699.75
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Dow futures (YM=F): +107.00 points (+0.30%), to 35,739.00
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Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): +34.75 points (+0.21%) to 16,204.50
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Crude (CL=F): +$0.20 (+0.27%) to $72.96 a barrel
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Gold (GC=F): +$5.20 (+0.29%) to $1,807.40 per ounce
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10-year Treasury (^TNX): +0.08 bps to yield % 130.66
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6:01 p.m. Wednesday ET: Stock futures flat ahead of overnight trading
Here’s how markets were moving in late trading on Wednesday:
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S&P 500 futures (ES=F): +4.00 points (+0.09%), to 4,690.00
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Dow futures (YM=F): +19.00 points (+0.05%), to 35,651.00
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Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): +11.05 points (+0.07%) to 16,181.25
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Crude (CL=F): +$0.30 (+0.41%) to $73.06 a barrel
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Gold (GC=F): +$3.00 (+0.17%) to $1,805.20 per ounce
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10-year Treasury (^TNX): +0.06 bps to yield % 161.4375
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Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc
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