09/05/24 Briefing

US stocks rose Thursday as more evidence showed the US labor market continued to cool, reviving hopes for a rate cut by the fall.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose about 0.9%, or almost 350 points, extending its winning streak to seven trading sessions. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.5%, moving back above the 5,200 closing level for the first time since April 9. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.2%.

The market showed further signs of a broadening rally on Thursday, with Real Estate (XLRE) and Utilities (XLU) leading the sector action. Meanwhile, Technology (XLK) and Communications Services (XLC), the two leading sectors of the past year, were the lone areas to lag the S&P 500 on Thursday.

Initial weekly jobless claims data released on Thursday came in at 231,000, an increase of 22,000 from the prior week and the highest level since August. The latest Department of Labor print signals the job market continues to slow. Most bets remain on a Fed rate cut in September.

In the corporate world, a downbeat annual revenue forecast from Arm (ARM) cast doubt on the hopes for AI growth that have boosted chip stocks. The chip designer's shares fell around 2%, with sector peers Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD) also down slightly.

Meanwhile, Roblox (RBLX) stock plummeted more than 20% after it said players were not spending as much within its video-game platform.