The Dow and other indexes rose on Thursday as new labor market data came in better than expected, easing concerns about a potential recession. Following that, stocks began to recover from recent massive sell-offs.
The Labor Department reported that initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped by 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 233,000 for the week ended August 3. This marks the largest drop in about 11 months. In comparison, economists had forecasted 240,000 claims for the latest week.
By the end of the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 683, or 1.7%, to 39,446. The S&P 500 added 2.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite popped 2.8%.
Eli Lilly stock surges over 9%
Eli Lilly, the American pharmaceutical company famous for its diabetes drugs, released its earnings report on Thursday, which boosted the stock price by over 9% by closing time. The company said it is raising its 2024 full-year revenue guidance by $3 billion to between $45.4 billion and $46.6 billion.
Overall, the company’s revenue in the second quarter rose 36% year over year to $11.3 billion, compared with $8 billion in the same period in 2023.
Warner Bros. Discovery stock drops more than 8%
Warner Bros. Discovery stock dropped more than 8% by closing time as the entertainment giant reported a whopping $11.2 billion in write-downs and charges.
In the second quarter, the company booked a $9.1 billion non-cash goodwill impairment charge tied to its TV networks segment, as well as $2.1 in costs related to its merger, Warner Bros. Discovery said in its quarterly earnings report Wednesday.
–Bruce Gil and Rocio Fabbro contributed to this article
