U.S. stock markets closed higher on Thursday before the release of the crucial jobs data for August. Recently released several labor market data skyrocketed market participants’ expectations for the first Fed interest rate cut in 2025 during its September FOMC meeting. All three major stock indexes ended in positive territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.8% or 350.06 points to close at 45,621.29. Notably, 24 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory and six finished in negative territory. At the intraday low, the blue-chip index was down nearly 110 points.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 21,705.69, rising 1% or 209.97 points due to the strong performance of semiconductor stocks. The major gainer of the tech-laden index was Micron Technology Inc. MU.
The stock price of this AI-powered semiconductor giant surged 4.6%. Micron Technology currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.8% to finish at 6,502.08. This marked the benchmark’s 21st closing high in 2025. Out of the 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index, 10 ended in positive territory, while one was in negative territory. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY), the Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) and the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) gained 1.8%, 1.1% and 1.1%, respectively.
The fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 6.4% to 15.30. A total of 14.68 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 16.07 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 2.79-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.46-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) reported that private sector payrolls increased by a mere 54,000 in August, missing the consensus mark of 75,000. The metric for July was revised upward to 106,000. People who stayed in the same job witnessed a 4.4% pay rise year over year in August. People who changed jobs saw a 7.1% salary hike year over year in August.
The Department of Labor reported that initial claims increased 8,000 to 237,000 for the week ended Aug. 30, higher than the consensus estimate of 231,000. Previous week’s data was 229,000. Continuing claims (those who have already received government aid and reported a week behind) decreased 4,000 to 1.94 million for the week ended Aug 23. The previous week’s data was revised downward by 10,000 to 1.954 million.
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