The S&P 500 has reached a new all-time high, boosted by an expected European Central Bank interest rate cut and a surprisingly good US jobless claims report.
The S&P 500 rose 14.89 points, or 0.94 per cent, to reach 1,597.59 on Thursday, narrowly above the previous record set on Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 130.63 points, or 0.89 per cent, to 14,831.58.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 41.49 points, or 1.26 per cent, to 3,340.62.
The gains were a reversal from Wednesday, when all three indices posted solid losses on weak US and Chinese economic data.
“Investors returned to the risk-trade after the ECB lowered its key interest rate in an effort to spur growth and pull the eurozone out of a recession,” said Wells Fargo in a market note.
“An improvement in the employment picture is also helping lift the market.”
New claims for US unemployment benefits – an indicator of the pace of layoffs – fell by 18,000 to 324,000, the lowest level since mid-January 2008.
General Motors increased 3.2 per cent after reporting a 13.8 per cent drop in first-quarter earnings due to weakness in North America. Analysts were cheered by smaller-than-expected losses in GM’s European operations.
Facebook added 5.6 per cent after reporting a 58 per cent increase in first-quarter profit, fuelled by mobile advertising growth. Facebook said its monthly active users rose 23 per cent from a year ago.
Yelp, the online reviews site, jumped 27.4 per cent after its first-quarter sales beat analyst projections, with a 68 per cent gain, even as it still reported a net $US4.8 million loss overall.
Credit card firm Visa gained 5.7 per cent after topping earnings expectations by 11 US cents per share.
Gilead Sciences gained 4.1 per cent despite missing analyst expectations in its quarterly earnings. Wells Fargo attributed the rise to Gilead’s announcement of positive test results from a hepatitis C treatment.
Kellogg dipped 1.8 per cent after reporting an 11 per cent decline in profits. The company reaffirmed its full-year profit forecast.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.63 per cent from 1.64 per cent late Wednesday, while the yield on the 30-year bond slipped to 2.83 per cent from 2.84 per cent. Bond prices move inversely to yields.