By Sinéad Carew and Marc Jones
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Equities advanced on Thursday with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq registering record closing highs and the dollar rose as investors were encouraged by the latest crop of economic data and earnings reports while oil futures rose on supply risks in the Middle East.
Data on jobless claims showed that the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, pointing to steady job growth so far in July, though some laid off workers are experiencing long spells of unemployment because of a moderation in hiring.
U.S. retail sales rebounded more than expected in June, but some of the increase likely reflected higher prices for some goods exposed to tariffs.
“In economic data two key releases came out today: retail sales and jobless claims. Both were better than anticipated,” said Mike Cornacchioli, investment strategy director and senior vice president at Citizens Private Wealth.
“Those two illustrate the strength of the consumer and the labor market. So, a lot of the fears that were placed on the state of the U.S. economy are overblown and have failed to come to fruition at this point in time. Maybe they will some time down the line, but this data and the data that’s come in lately has just reinforced the strength of the U.S. economy.”
Cornacchioli also pointed to strong earnings reports as a boost for equities on Thursday.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the world’s main maker of advanced AI chips, posted record profits ahead of expectations. It warned that future income might be hit by U.S. tariffs, though perhaps not until the fourth quarter. Also, GE Aerospace lifted its profit outlook with jet engine deliveries rising as efforts to fix supply constraints showed results.
“Money continues to flow into equities on expectations for a strong earnings season,” said Michael James, equity sales trader at Rosenblatt Securities, Los Angeles.
“Overall the market continues to climb a wall of worry regardless of elevated valuations as people are looking forward beyond this current quarter or the next month to value stocks on 2026 multiples.”
After four straight days of losses, Europe’s STOXX 600 index ended up 0.96%, with a boost from strong earnings reports including record orders at Swiss engineering firm ABB.
Wall Street was boosted by stocks including PepsiCo PEP.O which rallied 7.5% after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results on steady demand in the U.S. and major markets, including Europe. In another positive sign for the consumer, United Airlines UAL.O shares rose after executives said the company has seen strong bookings in the past three weeks.
finance.yahoo.com
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