U.S. stocks traded slightly higher Thursday morning, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gaining around 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 0.06% to 41,000.33, while the S&P 500 also rose, gaining 0.06% to 5,523.29.
Consumer discretionary shares, which include companies that sell non-essential goods and services, climbed by 0.9% on Thursday. This suggests investors are feeling optimistic about consumer spending. On the other hand, industrials shares, which represent companies involved in manufacturing and production, fell by 0.6%.
The labor market continues to show signs of strength. U.S. initial jobless claims, a measure of new unemployment benefits claims, fell by 5,000 from the prior week to 227,000 in the week ending August 31. This was lower than market estimates of 230,000, indicating a tight labor market.
Several individual stocks experienced significant movement. Eastside Distilling, Inc. (EAST) shares shot up 212% after announcing a merger agreement with Beeline Financial Holdings, Inc., a private mortgage technology firm. Hoth Therapeutics, Inc. (HOTH) shares surged 86% following the release of data from a study on its novel therapeutic HT-001. Applied Digital Corporation (APLD) shares gained 40% after announcing a $160 million private placement financing deal.
On the downside, Singularity Future Technology Ltd. (SGLY) shares dropped 29%, Qualigen Therapeutics, Inc. (QLGN) shares were down 20%, and Sify Technologies Limited (SIFY) was down 22%.
In commodity markets, oil traded up 1% to $69.89, while gold traded up 0.9% at $2,547.80. Silver traded up 1.9%, and copper rose 0.9%.
European shares were mixed. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.3%, Germany’s DAX rose 0.2%, and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.5%. Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.7%, while London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.1%. Retail sales in the Eurozone rose by 0.1% from the previous month in July, suggesting a slight improvement in consumer spending. The HCOB Eurozone construction PMI remained unchanged at 41.4 in August, while the S&P Global UK construction PMI declined to 53.6 in August.
Asian markets closed mostly lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.05%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.08%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.14%, and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.18%. Average cash earnings in Japan rose by 3.6% year-over-year in July, indicating continued growth in wages.
In the U.S. economy, private businesses added 99,000 workers to their payrolls in August, according to the ADP National Employment Report. This was lower than the revised 111,000 gain in July and market estimates of 145,000. U.S. non-farm business sector labor productivity rose by 2.5% in the second quarter, indicating that workers are becoming more efficient. Unit labor costs, which measure the cost of labor per unit of output, rose by an annualized rate of 0.4% during the second quarter.
