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S&P 500 and Dow Jones closed in the green on Thursday, September 1, snapping their four straight sessions of losses, as investors turned their focus on the upcoming payroll data by the Labor Department, which would be released on Friday, September 2.
The S&P 500 rose 0.30 per cent to 3,966.85. The Dow Jones was up 0.46 per cent to 31,656.42. The NASDAQ Composite lost 0.26 per cent to 11,785.13, and the small-cap Russell 2000 fell 1.16 per cent to 1,822.82.
Despite the gains in the two indices, the Nasdaq index stayed in the negative territory, as investors kept a distance from the mega-cap tech stocks of worries over tightening monetary policy.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department report of September 1 showed that the weekly jobless claims declined to a two-month low in the prior week. The positive job data also fuelled some concerns as it gives another reason to the central bank in hiking the interest rates.
The number of Americans filing for new unemployment benefits claims dropped by 5,000 to 232,000 in the previous week that ended on August 27, Labor Department reported on September 1.
The healthcare and consumer discretionary sectors led gains in the S&P 500 index on September 2. Seven of the 11 segments of the index stayed in the positive territory. The information technology and energy sectors were the bottom movers.
Shares of the leading chipmaker, Nvidia Corporation (NVDA) fell more than seven per cent in the intraday trading on Thursday, after the US regulators imposed new licensing requirements for the export of some of the top chips to China.
Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL) lost over six per cent in the intraday session on September 1, after the food processing firm trimmed its profit guidance for the current fiscal year.
Okta, Inc. (OKTA) plummeted more than 33 per cent on Thursday after the firm unveiled some unexpected integration issues with its acquisition of AuthO. The acquisition took place last year.
In the healthcare sector, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) added 2.48 per cent, Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) gained 2.62 per cent, and Pfizer Inc. (PFE) soared 3.10 per cent. AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) and Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) increased by 2.97 per cent and 2.10 per cent, respectively.
In technology stocks, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM) plunged 2.05 per cent, Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) fell 1.42 per cent, and ASML Holding N.V. (ASML) plummeted 4.09 per cent. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) and Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) slumped 1.66 per cent and 1.78 per cent, respectively.
In the consumer discretionary sector, Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) surged 0.83 per cent, The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) jumped 1.72 per cent, and McDonald's Corporation (MCD) advanced 1.66 per cent. Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) and The TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX) were up 1.58 per cent and 2.39 per cent, respectively.
Futures & Commodities
Gold futures were down 1.09 per cent to US$1,707.35 per ounce. Silver decreased by 1.37 per cent to US$17.637 per ounce, while copper fell 3.15 per cent to US$3.4075.
Brent oil futures decreased by 3.64 per cent to US$92.16 per barrel and WTI crude was down 3.47 per cent to US$86.44.
Bond Market
The 30-year Treasury bond yields were up 3.44 per cent to 3.367, while the 10-year bond yields rose 3.99 per cent to 3.257.
US Dollar Futures Index increased by 0.91 per cent to US$109.655.
