Stocks rose Thursday as another surprise jump in initial unemployment claims raised confidence on Wall Street that Congress leaders will soon agree to a coronavirus aid package.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 101 points, or 0.33%, to 30,255, the S&P 500 gained 0.36%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.48%.
The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq traded at record highs during the day earlier in Thursday’s session.
As Congress finalized the $ 900 billion contingency plan, some details have emerged about what will be included in the package.
People briefed on the negotiations told Bloomberg that the plan’s draft includes $ 600 in payments for individuals, $ 300 a week in supplemental unemployment insurance, and small business assistance. It also includes about $ 17 billion for airlines.
The package leaves no support for state and local governments and liability protection lawsuits, bottlenecks that have held back previous negotiations.
Relief cannot come fast enough for a boisterous US job market.
Unemployment claims rose unexpectedly last week as companies continued to cut headcount amid the worst surge in the coronavirus pandemic to date.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that 885,000 Americans had filed for initial unemployment benefits in the week ending December 12, up from 862,000 claims revised the week before and the highest since early September. Economists polled by FactSet had expected claims of 800,000.
The numbers reflect the ongoing problems in the labor market, where the pandemic is affecting employers’ decisions to keep staff on the payroll, even during the critical Christmas shopping season.
“If any doubts remained that record Covid-19 cases pushed up unemployment claims, they were inundated with last week’s numbers,” said Robert Frick, a business economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union.
“The federal aid package cannot come a day too early to limit job losses, retail spending and a host of other measures that have broken down in the past two months,” added Frick.
Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, promised on Wednesday that the central bank would continue to support the US economy.
The Fed said it would maintain the pace of its bond buying program, which currently stands at $ 120 billion a month, and that its broader accommodation strategy will remain in effect until “substantial further progress” is made in meeting employment targets. and inflation.
Powell said he expects the economy to recover at a healthy pace in the second half of 2021, as coronavirus vaccines are widely distributed.
Moderna’s (MRNA) – Request report A candidate for the coronavirus vaccine will appear before a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Thursday. The entire FDA could sign off on emergency use of the vaccine as early as Friday.
Earlier this week, FDA staff said the Moderna vaccine for Covid-19 was “very effective” in preventing the potentially fatal disease. Moderna said his vaccine candidate has an efficacy rate of about 94%.
TheStreet’s best stock of the year: Moderna is No. 3
Bitcoin traded above USD 23,000 for the first time in history when investors and speculators jumped on board.
The largest digital currency in the world will more than triple by 2020. It first exceeded $ 20,000 just on Wednesday.