The Dow rose 0.6%, or 189 points, while the S&P closed 1% higher.
“Covid trends continue to show improvement both nationally and internationally, as vaccine doses continue to accumulate across the country,” said Paul Hickey of Bespoke Investment.
Bond yields, which have risen recently due to concerns that rising inflation would force the Federal Reserve to raise rates sooner rather than later, have fallen again. These fears were partially allayed by Wednesday’s inflation report, which was in line with economists’ expectations.
The 10-year US Treasury yield rose 0.01% to 1.53% around the close of the stock market on Thursday. Bond yields and prices move in opposition to each other.
“It is clear that investors are not sure what to do with stocks at these levels,” Fawad Razaqzada, a market analyst at Think Markets, wrote in a note to clients.
“Some are still eager to continue buying shares, especially those sensitive to the economy, before stimulus controls arrive,” Razaqzada added, “while others are excited to reserve profits after a remarkable rally in the last year or so. something”.
Thursday’s economic data also helped boost optimism: weekly first-time unemployment benefits fell less than economists had predicted, and fell from the previous week. It could be a sign that the US job recovery is finally gathering steam.
Even so, with 712,000 seasonally adjusted initial applications filed last week, the number of workers in need of benefits is even higher than during the peak of the Great Recession.