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Added on the 10/05/2018 08:24:29 - Copyright : Wochit
The US equity indexes closed at record highs on Thursday. Analysts look to the Democrats' victories in the Georgia Senate runoffs as a factor in the surge. Experts say the dual victories in the Georgia Senate runoffs pave the way for sweeping fiscal support in early 2021. The S&P 500 was up 1.5% at 3,803.79. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 212 points higher at 31,041.13, up 0.7%. While the Nasdaq composite saw an uptick of 2.6% at 13,067.48.
Lukas Jackson/Reuters US stocks closed mixed on Thursday amid falling jobless claims and new hopes for a stimulus deal. The Nasdaq composite closed at all-time highs, while the S&P 500 lost its record close in the final hour of trading. New weekly claims for unemployment insurance totaled an unadjusted 712,000 for the week that ended Saturday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected a reading of 775,000. Lawmakers warmed up to the $908 billion proposal Democratic leaders embraced on Wednesday, placing new pressure on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to reach a compromise.
The Labor Department has reported that US jobless claims for the week that ended Saturday totaled 898,000. The numbers came in above the consensus economist estimate of 825,000. According to Business Insider, the reading also marks an increase from the previous week's revised figure. Continuing claims, which track ongoing unemployment benefits, fell to 10 million for the week of October 3. The ongoing benefits numbers came in lower than what economists had forecast. There have been approximately 65 million unemployment-insurance filings since early February.
Wall Street stocks slip lower in volatile trading, absorbing another eye-popping unemployment figure due to the government-ordered shutdown of businesses to contain the coronavirus outbreak. IMAGES