U.S. stocks climbed on Thursday led by technology stocks as investors flocked into their growth darlings again as fears of inflation and rates eased.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 104 points to hit another intraday record high. The S&P 500 climbed 0.7%. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.5% amid a rotation back into tech shares. Tesla was up 4%. Apple Facebook and Netflix all jumped at least 2%, while Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft shares were also higher.
On the data front, investors cheered a slightly better-than-expected reading on weekly jobless claims. The Labor Department reported that first-time filings for unemployment insurance in the week ended March 6 totaled a seasonally adjusted 712,000, below the Dow Jones estimate of 725,000.
"The drop in jobless claims is another win for the week, and a solid sign that we're making some strides toward pre-pandemic life," said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E-Trade Financial. "Combined with stimulus relief in sight and a muted CPI read yesterday plus increased vaccinations and decreased business restrictions, there's a pretty optimistic picture being painted."
The 10-year Treasury yield, which had retreated from its recent high of 1.6%, was little changed at 1.51 on Thursday.
Wednesday's gains came as the House passed the $1.9 trillion stimulus package, sending it to President Joe Biden, and while the bond market digested a $38 billion auction of 10-year Treasury bonds without a spike in volatility.
Rising interest rates accelerated the rotation away from tech and growth stocks in recent weeks and into more cyclical sectors, such as energy. Higher rates make profits in far-off years seem less attractive to investors and can knock down stocks with relatively high valuations.
“The faster-than-expected acceleration of U.S. economic growth appears to be lifting inflation and longer-term interest rates,” Gary Schlossberg from the Wells Fargo Investment Institute said in a note. “The pace of these increases have been a recent concern to investors, but a recovery in interest rates and inflation is a typical occurrence early in a recover – faster this time, in our opinion, because of the unusually strong economic growth rebound.”
This week has been stronger for the growth stocks overall, however, as a surge for the Nasdaq on Tuesday pulled the index out of correction territory. The Invesco QQQ Trust, which tracks the Nasdaq 100, is up slightly this week after falling the previous three weeks.
