The stock market rallied on Thursday, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite couldn’t hold on for record closes.
The S&P 500 gained 0.8%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 405 points, or 0.9%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were both briefly trading above their highest closes on record with minutes to go in the session but pulled back.
Earlier in the morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised its first-quarter GDP estimate to a decline of 0.5% from a previous decline of 0.2%, but initial jobless claims were lower than expected.
“The takeaway from this morning’s mixed data is that the economy is slowing, but remains resilient,” writes Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley. “While the numbers as a whole don’t necessarily make a compelling case for bulls or bears, for the time being, the market appears fixated on tech strength and the S&P 500’s potential return to record levels.”
Bonds were rallying, too, with the 2-year Treasury yield pulling back to 3.71%, its lowest 3 p.m. level since May 1, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The 10-year yield fell to 4.25%.
The BEA will release the Federal Reserve preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index, tomorrow morning. Of course, it’s June and July inflation data will really be key to whether the central bank cuts interest rates sooner rather than later.
