Stock Market News for Dec 3, 2021
Benchmarks snapped the two-straight day omicron-driven sell-off, closing sharply higher as investors look past the virus scare and monetary policy change jitters. Rebound in economic sensitive stocks led the Dow to mark the best percentage gain.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 617.75 points, or 1.8%, to close at 34,639.79, its best one-day percentage gain since Mar 5. The Boeing Company BA led the blue-chip index’s rally by adding 7.5% on Thursday. Boeing carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The S&P 500 rose 64.06 points, or 1.4%, to close at 4,577.10 on Thursday, its best day since Oct 14. All the 11 major sectors closed in the green, with the industrials, energy, financials and real estate sectors closing at least 2.7% higher. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed modestly higher at 15,381.32, after adding 127.27 points, or 0.8%.
On Thursday, the fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 10.2%, to close at 27.95. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.49-to-1 ratio, while a 1.79-to-1 ratio favored advancers on the Nasdaq. A total of 12.85 billion shares were traded yesterday, higher than the last 20-session average of 11.40 billion.
Benchmarks Rebound as Investors Overlook Omicron Fears
The new omicron Covid-19 variant is gradually spreading in the United States, with reports of a second case from a Minnesota resident visiting New York. Investors kept a close watch for developments on the omicron variant and remained alert on the Federal Reserve’s hawkish tightening measures. However, hopes that there will not be any further lockdowns or shutdowns helped stocks rebound on Thursday. President Joe Biden said to combat the new strain the country will be ramping up COVID-19 testing for travelers entering America and he also plans on extending mask mandate on airplanes and other public transportation.
Rebounding from two-straight day of downturn were travel and leisure stocks. Share of Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL closed 9.3% higher yesterday, and both Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. NCLH and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. RCL closed at least 7% higher. Resorts and casino giants like MGM Resorts International MGM closed 7.7% higher.
Initial Claims Surged on Thanksgiving Week
On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that for the week ending Nov 27 the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits jumped by 28,000 to 222,000, lower than the consensus estimate of 249,000. Initial claims had tumbled in the precious weeks hitting the lowest level since 1969. However, the sudden rise seems to be tied up with Thanksgiving and lay off are significantly lower in response to the worst labor shortage in years. Companies are offering higher wages to ease the labor crunch.
Continuing jobless claims meanwhile, fell by 107,000 to 1.96 million, for the week ending Nov 20, and nearly 2.31 million people were receiving jobless benefits through eight state and federal programs. Investors now await government’s payrolls data for November that is scheduled for released on Dec 3.
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The Boeing Company (BA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
MGM Resorts International (MGM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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