Tech stocks boost Nasdaq, Dow rises, S&P on track to end five-session losing streak – Seeking Alpha

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U.S. stocks on Thursday were on track to snap recent losses, with the S&P 500 looking to halt a five-day slide. Sentiment was initially helped by jobless claims data that hinted at some signs of cooling in the labor market, and the risk-on mood continued throughout the session.
With less than an hour of trading left, the S&P (SP500) was up 0.56% to 3,956.01 points, after having risen more than 1% earlier. The blue-chip Dow (DJI) added 0.30% to 33,699.36 points.
The Nasdaq Composite (COMP.IND) outperformed the other two indices, advancing 0.99% to 11,066.98 points, as megacap technology stocks rebounded. Gains in semiconductor stocks also helped.
Of the 11 S&P sectors, nine were trading in the green, led by Technology and Consumer Discretionary. Communication Services and Energy were the two losers.
The number of Americans filing for weekly jobless claims rose to an expected 230K. Continuing claims rose to 1.671M, topping the forecast of 1.6M. The data suggested that there was some loosening in the labor market, a key factor that is being closely watched by the Fed in determining the path of its policy tightening.
“The four-week average now stands at 230K, the highest since early September, having jumped from a low of just 206K in early October,” Pantheon Macro said. “Claims are noisy, especially from Thanksgiving through mid-January, and we expect numbers closer to 215K over the next couple weeks. But we think the trend will be materially higher once the holiday seasonal adjustment distortions fade.”
Investors have mostly been cautious this week ahead of rate decisions from the Fed and the European central bank next Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
A “potentially dovish signal (if you squint hard enough) came from the Bank of Canada, which is acting as something of a prelude ahead of the Fed, ECB and BoE decisions next week,” Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid said.
The Canadian central bank on Wednesday lifted its policy rate by 50 basis points.
“The move was higher than the 25bp hike we expected and in line with the slim majority of economists in the Bloomberg survey. The statement signaled that the hiking cycle might be over. If that is indeed the case, it would likely be consistent with our long-held view that the terminal rate of the BoC will be lower than the Fed’s. The central bank also announced it is continuing the process of quantitative tightening,” UBS economist Pablo Villanueva said on Wednesday.
Turning to the bond markets, rates rebounded from a two-day slide. The 10-year Treasury yield (US10Y) rose 9 basis points to 3.50% and the 2-year Treasury yield (US2Y) rose 6 basis points to 4.32%.
It “seems more that the (bond) market is not done squaring positions into year-end,” ING said. “At the same time the market is increasingly adding to the rate cut expectations in the second half of 2023, further inverting this part of the money market curve.”
Among active movers, China-linked stocks advanced after the government eased the country’s harsh COVID-19 policies.
Meme stocks were also moving. AMC Entertainment (AMC) rebounded some from a selloff after with a source saying it is in no risk of immediate restructuring. GameStop (GME) was down slightly after posting a wider-than-expected loss.
Activision Blizzard (ATVI) dipped after the Federal Trade Commission decided to vote to block the videogame publisher’s sale to Microsoft (MSFT).

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