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Source:Jirapong Manustrong, Shutterstock
Summary
- S&P 500 gained 1.04%, Dow Jones was up 0.58%, and NASDAQ rose 2.52%
- JD.com Inc. revenues were up 31.4 percent to US$134.4 billion in fourth quarter.
- Unemployment benefits claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell to 712,000 last week.
US markets closed higher on Thursday, lifted by technology stocks, as investors welcomed the positive employment data and signing of the coronavirus relief bill into law by President Joe Biden.
The S&P 500 gained 1.04% to 3939.34. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.58% to 32485.59. The NASDAQ Composite Index rose 2.52% to 13398.67, and the small-cap Russell 2000 ticked up 2.31% to 2338.54.
Markets were upbeat with back-to-back positive labor figures and company earnings reports after a volatile session on Wednesday. Unemployment benefits claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell further to 712,000 last week, indicating a recovery in the labor market. According to the Labor Department on Thursday, about 7 million new job openings were recorded in January.
President Biden has signed the US$1.9 trillion stimulus bill into law on Thursday. The signing of the bill was initially scheduled for Friday. He was expected to address the nation in the evening to highlight some of the recent advances made by his administration against the pandemic.
Chinese e-commerce company JD.com Inc. (NASDAQ-JD) revenues were up 31.4 percent to US$134.4 billion in the fourth quarter compared to the same period in 2019. Its annual net service revenues were up by 53.2 percent, compared to the corresponding quarter in the previous year.
Revenues were boosted by online sales as more people shifted to e-commerce during the lockdown. JD.com added 110 million active customers compared to its rival Alibaba’s 68 million in 2020. JD shares were marginally up 0.68 percent to US$89.94 at 3.06 pm ET.
EV infrastructure company ChargePoint Holdings, Inc. was also expected to report its fourth-quarter financial results ended January 31, 2021.
The company operates EV charging stations in 14 countries, including the US. ChargePoint stocks (NYSE:CHPT) surged this week after the investment bank Cowen Inc. named it the best EV stock.
The San Francisco-headquartered e-signature technology company DocuSign, Inc. was also expected to report Q4 results after the markets close. DocuSign has a market cap of $40.7 billion.
Technology, consumer cyclicals, real estate, healthcare, basic materials, industrials, and energy stocks ticked up in Thursday’s session, while utilities, financials, and consumer non-cyclicals were the laggards.
Also read: South Korean E-Commerce Giant Coupang Raises US$4.55 Billion In US IPO
Top Gainers
Top performers on S&P 500 included Enphase Energy Inc (8.69%), Freeport-McMoRan Inc (8.27%), ETSY Inc (7.51%), and ServiceNow Inc (6.56%). On NASDAQ, top performers were Mercadolibre Inc (9.92%), Pinduoduo Inc (9.82%), Marvell Technology Group Ltd (8.29%), and Moderna Inc (8.09%). On Dow Jones, Nike Inc (2.87%), Boeing Co (2.49%), Microsoft Corp (2.27%), and Salesforce.Com Inc (2.20%) were among the leaders.
Top Losers
Top laggards on S&P 500 included General Electric Co (-9.25%), Oracle Corp (-6.02%), NVR Inc (-3.27%), and Sealed Air Corp (-3.01%). On NASDAQ, Kraft Heinz Co (-1.48%), lexion Pharmaceuticals Inc (-1.11%), Gilead Sciences Inc (-1.10%), and American Electric Power Company Inc (-0.94%) were the losers. On Dow Jones, Verizon Communications Inc (-2.60%), Coca-Cola Co (-1.14%), Caterpillar Inc (-0.63%), and JPMorgan Chase & Co (-0.54%) were among the laggards.
Image Source: Refinitiv, NASDAQ 6-Month price chart, March 11, 2021.
Volume Movers
Top volume movers included Apple Inc (15.27mn), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (7.21mn), JD.Com Inc (5.97mn), Microsoft Corp (5.83mn), Tesla Inc (5.72mn), Facebook Inc (5.18mn), Intel Corp (4.80mn), Marvell Technology Group Ltd (4.68mn), General Electric Co (28.60mn), Ford Motor Co (6.94mn), Oracle Corp (6.16mn), Bank of America Corp (5.37mn), American Airlines Group Inc (5.29mn), and Verizon Communications Inc (4.10mn).
Futures & Commodities
Gold futures were up 0.09% to $1,723.30 per ounce, silver prices rose 0.41% to $26.238 per ounce, and copper was up 2.78% to $4.1448.
Brent oil futures were up 2.68% to $69.72 and WTI crude rose 2.61% to $66.12 per barrel.
Bond Market
The 30-year treasury bond yields were up 1.11% to 2.267, while the 10-year bond yields were down 0.03% to 1.520.
US Dollar Futures Index was down 0.49% to 91.380.
Also read: 5 Warren Buffet Stocks To Pick & Hold For A Long Time
In other news, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the state attorneys general have opened a fresh antitrust lawsuit against Facebook over its alleged stifling of competition. They alleged that the company is seeking to establish a monopoly in the market, which harmed the consumers. They accused the company of cutting off access of third-party developers to its platform.
Facebook has denied the charges and claimed in a motion at the US District Court in Washington that the enforcers have no solid basis and does not understand the nature of the business.
Meanwhile, the job market continued to improve, lifted by increased hiring in the hospitality sector, including restaurants and hotels, as they begin to resume in-person dining operations. The pace of vaccinations has helped eliminate some of the covid concerns.
The European Medicines Agency on Thursday approved the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The decision came following the US approval of the drug last month. Also, the vaccine does not require to be stored in freezers, unlike some other covid drugs.
