WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After ending yesterday's highly volatile session mostly higher, stocks are seeing further upside during trading on Thursday. With the upward move, the major averages have offset the pullback seen earlier in the week.
Currently, the major averages are just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq is up 231.53 points or 1.3 percent at 17,969.69, the Dow is up 408.81 points or 1.0 percent at 41,522.78 and the S&P 500 is up 54.23 points or 1.0 percent at 5,685.51.
The rally on Wall Street comes after President Donald Trump unveiled the framework of a trade agreement with the U.K., marking the first deal since he announced new tariffs on U.S. trade partners in early April.
While details of the deal were not immediately clear, Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social that the agreement would raise $6 billion in external revenue from 10 percent on tariffs on U.K. exports and create $5 billion in new export opportunities for U.S. ranchers, farmers and producers.
'This Deal shows that if you respect America, and bring serious proposals to the table, America is OPEN FOR BUSINESS. Many more to come - STAY TUNED!' Trump said.
The announcement has helped further ease uncertainty about trade following yesterday's news that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet with China's lead representative on economic matters during a trip to Switzerland.
In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest decline in the week ended May 3rd.
The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 228,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 241,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to slip to 230,000.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average inched up to 227,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 226,000.
The Labor Department also released a separate report showing a pullback by U.S. labor productivity in the first quarter of 2025 along with a sharp increase by unit labor costs.
Sector News
Airline stocks are turning in some of the market's best performances, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 3.5 percent to its best intraday level in over a month.
A sharp increase by the price of crude oil is also contributing to substantial strength among energy stocks, driving both the NYSE Arca Oil Index and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 2.9 percent.
Financial, software and housing stocks are also seeing considerable strength, while pharmaceutical stocks have shown a significant move to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have turned mixed over the course of the session. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.7 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.8 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after moving higher over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price is up by 4.9 basis points at 4.324 percent.
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