The Dow Jones Industrial index sagged 55.15 points, to answer Thursday’s opening bell at 4o,919.82.
The S&P 500 moved forward 10.23 points to 5,530.30.
The NASDAQ jumped 130.12 points to 17,214.42.
Popular mega-cap and chip stocks led the charge, with Nvidia last up 3%. Meta Platforms, Alphabet and Apple rose about 1% each. Amazon gained 3%, while Intel edged up 2%.
Fresh labour market data Thursday sent mixed signals about the health of the U.S. economy as questions linger over whether the Federal Reserve is behind the curve on rate cuts. Private payrolls data showed the weakest growth since 2021, heightening fears of a slowing labor market. However, weekly claims for unemployment benefits declined from the previous week.
Tesla popped 6% after the electric vehicle maker said it plans to launch its full self-driving software in Europe and China early next year.
Frontier Communications dropped 8% after Verizon said it would buy the company in a $20-billion deal valuing it below Wednesday’s close. Verizon added 0.3%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury advanced, lowering yields to 3.74% from Wednesday’s 3.76%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.11 to $70.31 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices were higher $15.10 to $2,541.10.