The S&P 500 rose to another record high on Thursday amid a strong rally in major technology stocks.
The broad equity benchmark gained 0.3%, reaching an all-time high after hitting a record high in the previous session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 0.9% as the FAANG shares of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google Parent Alphabet were all about 1% higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat.
Investors read the latest weekly jobless claims worse than expected. In the week ending April 3, a total of 744,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits for the first time, the Department of Labor said on Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected 694,000 claims for the first time.
“The rise in unemployment claims is disappointing, but it does not change our view that there will be tremendous job gains over the next few months as the economy opens up further,” said Jeff Buchbinder, equity strategist at LPL Financial. “In fact, we wouldn’t be shocked if the employment rate of return approaches pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year.”
Speaking from Washington on Wednesday, President Joe Biden spoke about his administration’s $ 2 trillion infrastructure plan, which includes an increase in the corporate tax rate to 28%, and said he was ready to negotiate the proposed tax hike.
The proposed corporate income tax hike is seen as the primary source of tax revenue for the White House infrastructure plan and is a non-starter for Republicans who say they are concerned about tax hikes if the U.S. economy emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tax support is seen as the main driver behind last month’s share records and strong economic data, including a stronger-than-expected job report from March. The S&P 500, Dow Industrials, and Nasdaq Composite all have their fourth consecutive quarter of earnings as the economic recovery from Covid-19 accelerates.
The Federal Reserve’s last minutes of the meeting, released Wednesday, showed officials plan to hold the pace of asset purchases for some time while the central bank works to support stable prices and maximum employment.
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