Stock market today: Dow ends higher as treasury yields slip to keep tech in demand

By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com -- The Dow closed higher Thursday, as the march in tech showed no sign of stopping following a slip in Treasury yields after softer labor data stoked hopes the Federal Reserve may not need to lean as hawkish as many fear.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.3%, or 428 points, the Nasdaq gained 1.2%, and the S&P 500 rose 1.2% to top a 14-month high.

Big tech was led higher by a more than 3% jump in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) as Treasury yields slipped following data showing U.S. jobless claims jumped to the highest level in nearly two years.

About 262,000 claimed unemployment insurance in the week ended June 10, unchanged from the prior week's upwardly revised 262,000, but well above economists’ expectations of 245,000, pointing to slack in the labor market.

While expectations that the Fed will opt to resume hikes in July remain in place, investors aren’t yet willing to price in another rate hike for the year, according to investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.

The Fed lifted its outlook on rate hikes, forecasting a further two hikes for the year, which would take the Fed funds rate to 5.6% from the current rate of 5.1%.

Despite signs of slack in the labor market, the latest retail sales data, which surprised to the upside, suggests the consumer remains in good shape.

The broader market was also supported by health care stocks such as CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS), Zoetis Inc (NYSE:ZTS) and UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH), with the latter rebounding from losses on Wednesday, when fears about rising costs rattled sentiment.

Energy was also a big move on the day, rising more than 1% as sentiment on oil prices was given a boost after China, the world’s biggest oil importer, cut interest rates overnight Thursday, stoking optimism about the economy and oil demand.

Coterra Energy Inc (NYSE:CTRA), APA (NASDAQ:APA), Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) were among the biggest gainers in the energy sector on the day.

In deal news, Patterson-UTI Energy Inc (NASDAQ:PTEN) and Nextier Oilfield Solutions Inc (NYSE:NEX) agreed to merge in an all-stock $5.4 billion deal.