Stocks rose higher Thursday as new labor market data lessened growing fears of an imminent recession from earlier in the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied over 680 points, while the S&P 500 Index advanced over 2% in its best day since November 2022 and Nasdaq Composite added about 1.8%.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
In Economic News:
Jobless Claims dipped lower last week, helping to assuage growing fears of a weakening labor market sparked by last week's surprising July jobs report. Initial unemployment filings totaled a seasonally adjusted 233,000 for the week ended Aug. 3, the Labor Department reported Thursday, marking a decline of 17,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised print and coming in below estimates.
Beneath the headline, continuing claims, which are tracked a week behind, ticked higher to 1.875 million, its highest level since November 2021. Moreover, the four-week average for jobless claims rose to 240,750, its highest total in almost a year.
Separately, JPMorgan increased its recession probability for the U.S. economy to 35% by the end of the year, up from the 25% forecast the bank shared in its mid-year outlook. The bank maintained its off for a recession by the second half of 2025 at 45%.
Despite the increased probability, however, JPMorgan Chief Global Economist Bruce Kasman wrote in a note to clients that all investors should not assume a hard recession is coming, as "the vulnerabilities normally associated with a recession break -- sustained profit margin or credit market stress, and energy or financial market shocks -- are notably absent," Kasman wrote in a note to clients, noting that the probability increase for near-term recession risk is modest.
On the Earnings Front:
Eli Lilly
"We just see unbelievable demand, and we're not even trying that hard to promote this drug," CEO David Ricks told CNBC in an interview on Thursday. "What you're seeing is just consumer organic demand here as we've shipped more product, as we bring more supply online in the United States."
Warner Bros. Discovery
"It's fair to say that even two years ago market valuations and prevailing conditions for legacy media companies were quite different than they are today, and this impairment acknowledges this and better aligns our carrying values with our future outlook," CEO David Zaslav told analysts during the company's earnings call on Wednesday, adding that the company is shifting its focus to growing its studios and streaming units.
Bumble
For Friday:
Market participants will turn their attention to earnings reports from companies including Gilead Sciences