The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 set a record on Thursday, the last trading day of 2020, as a volatile year, abruptly interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, ended.
The Dow rose 196 points, or 0.65%, to 30,606.48, while the S&P 500 rose 0.64% to 3,756.07, and the Nasdaq rose 0.14% to at 12,888.28.
Both the Dow and the S&P also peaked during the day.
For the year, the Dow Jones industrial average closed 7.2%. He finished 2019 at 28,538.44.
The S&P 500 rose 16.3% in 2020, after finishing 2019 at 3,230.78.
The Nasdaq Composite also advanced 43.6% this year. It closed 2019 at 8,972.60.
On Wednesday, shares ended slightly higher, and the Dow closed at a record high.
Initial unemployment claims fell by 19,000 to 787,000 in the week ending December 26, the Labor Department said, the second consecutive decline.
Wall Street expected initial unemployment claims to rise to 828,000. The previous week’s total was revised upwards by 3,000 to 806,000.
“Initial unemployment claims have fallen slightly, but at such high levels and with such high margins of error, they are essentially stuck at a painful level, swollen due to coronavirus growth,” said Robert Frick, a corporate economist at the Navy. Federal Credit Union.
As long as this growth continues, Frick said, “even with stimulus, we can expect more than 1 million Americans to lose their jobs weekly, based on state and federal measures.”
On the political front, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said Democrats would allow votes that would limit a shield of accountability for technology companies and set up a commission to look into the 2020 election if The GOP would agree to hold a separate support or -Vote reduction for sending $ 2,000 checks to most Americans, CNBC reported.
President Donald Trump has asked Congress to move on to all three issues when he agreed to sign a $ 900 billion Covid-19 aid package, but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) rejected direct payments. $ 2,000 as “socialism for the rich.”
The number of confirmed global deaths from covid-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, has risen to nearly 1.81 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. Virus cases worldwide have risen to 83.1 million.
The death toll in the United States is 343,030, the highest in the world. The number of infected people confirmed in the US was 19.8 million.
On Wednesday, there were 201,555 new cases of coronavirus in the United States and 3,725 deaths were recorded, according to university data.
An extremely contagious variant of the coronavirus that has spread to the UK was discovered in California, a day after Colorado authorities confirmed that the strain was found in a 20-year-old man.
Colorado health officials have also identified a second possible case of the new strain. Experts said existing vaccines should be effective against the new strain.
Exxon Mobil (XOM) – Get the report indicated in a regulatory document that it is likely to record a fourth consecutive quarterly loss after declining in value by up to $ 20 billion in its upstream assets. The shares of the energy majority closed at almost 1%, at $ 41.01.
JC Penney CEO Jill Soltau is leaving the retailer. The new owners of the chain, who came out of bankruptcy proceedings earlier this month, have begun looking for a new leader.
Simon Property Group (GSP) – Get the report and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) – Get the report, the two American mall owners who bought Penney in the fall, said they were looking for a leader “focused on modern retail, consumer experience and the goal of creating a sustainable and sustainable JC Penney.”
The stock exchanges will close on January 1. US bond markets closed at 2pm on Thursday and no New Year’s trading will take place.