Stocks have generally risen during Thursday's trading session, following investor response to a range of U.S. economic data. All major averages have seen improvements after a previous mixed session that ended with a late-day retreat.
Although they have stepped back from their session peaks, the primary averages remain in the green. With a 0.2 percent increase, the Dow is at 37,869.67, up by 63.28 points. The Nasdaq sees a 0.5 percent rise to 15,554.29, gaining 72.37 points, and the S&P 500 climbs by 17.76 points or 0.4 percent to 4,886.31.
The market's vigor follows the release of a Commerce Department report, which reflects robust U.S. economic growth and a deceleration in the consumer price increase rate in 2023's fourth quarter.
As per the report, the fourth quarter GDP experienced a 3.3 percent rise after an impressive 4.9 percent increase in the third quarter, exceeding economists' 2.0 percent prediction. This was primarily due to higher-than-projected GDP growth, which saw a 2.8 percent rise in the fourth quarter, following a 3.1 percent spike in the third quarter, driven largely by escalating consumer spending.
On the inflation side, the Commerce Department reports that the personal consumption expenditures price index rose by 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter, a decrease from a 2.6 percent rise in the third quarter. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index saw a consistent 2.0 percent increase in both the third and fourth quarters.
Jamie Cox, Managing Partner for Harris Financial Group, reports excitement about the combination of robust consumption and falling inflation, believing it to be the perfect setup for Fed to lower rates in the coming year.
Besides, the Commerce Department also issued a report revealing the stagnation in new orders for U.S. manufactured long-lasting goods in December.
But not all news has been positive. The Labor Department disclosed a greater-than-predicted rise in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ending on January 20th. Nonetheless, IBM Corp soared by 12.8 percent after reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
On the other hand, Dow constituent Boeing and health insurer UnitedHealth experienced drops, the latter borne out of Humana's disappointing guidance.
In sector news, telecom and airline stocks saw significant rises after suffering sharp falls on Wednesday. There was also notable strength in gold stocks against a modest rise in metal prices. In contrast, healthcare stocks retreated.
In the international market, the predominantly rising Asia-Pacific stock markets and virtually unchanged major European markets were observed, following the European Central Bank's announcement of unchanged interest rates. Meanwhile, in the bond market, treasuries have gained traction due to U.S. economic data, resulting in the yield on the benchmark ten-year note falling by 4.8 basis points to 4.130 percent.
