Investing.com-- U.S. stocks rose strongly Thursday after reasonably solid labor data allayed fears of a sharp slowdown in economic activity in the world's biggest economy.
At 09:35 ET (13:35 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 268 points, or 0.7%, the S&P 500 climbed 54 points, or 1%, and the NASDAQ Composite rose 200 points, or 1.2%.
Jobless claims solid
Data released earlier Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits came in at 233,000 for the week ended Aug. 3.
This was below the 241,000 expected, and a reduction from the revised 250,000 the prior week, which was an 11-month high.
The main Wall Street indices have suffered steep losses over the past few weeks, with the Nasdaq having entered correction territory, on increasing fears of a recession, following a slew of weak readings on the labor market and business activity.
JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) has raised the odds of a U.S. recession by the end of this year to 35% from 25%, citing easing labor market pressures.
This followed a weak monthly jobs report, with only 114,000 jobs created in July.
Comments from Richmod Fed President Thomas Barkin will also be studied Thursday for any clues on the U.S. central bank's next move.
Earnings continue to emerge
There are more earnings to digest Thursday.
Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) stock soared 10% after the drug maker raised its annual profit forecast and sales of its popular weight-loss drug Zepbound crossed $1 billion for the first time in a quarter.
Additionally, Bumble (NASDAQ:BMBL) stock slumped 36% after the online dating agency cut its annual revenue growth forecast, sparking worries about its growth plans.
Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) stock fell 8% after the entertainment giant reported a quarterly net loss of $10 billion, announcing it has written down the value of its traditional television networks by $9.1 billion, a dramatic recognition of how fast streaming is eroding the cable business model.
Crude helped by US data
Crude prices traded in a stable manner Thursday, stabilizing after the solid U.S. employment data largely cancelled out dismal economic data from top oil importer China.
By 09:35 ET, the U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded flat at $75.24 a barrel, while the Brent contract slipped 0.2% to $78.17 a barrel.
Data released earlier Thursday showed China imported around 10 million barrels of oil in July, down 12% from June and 3% lower than the same period last year.
Concerns over Chinese growth, coupled with fears of a U.S. recession, have weighed heavily on oil prices in recent sessions.
Both benchmarks had gained around 3% over the last two sessions, bouncing off near-2024 lows, helped by the simmering tensions in the Middle East.
Additionally, crude inventories in the United States, the world's largest oil consumer, fell 3.7 million barrels, data showed, marking a sixth straight weekly decline to six-month lows.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)