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S&P 500 opens little changed, Nasdaq hits fresh all-time highs

  • S&P 500 continues to move sideways below 3,200.
  • Nasdaq continues to push higher on rising tech shares.
  • Weekly Jobless Claims in US came in better than expected. 

Wall Street's main indexes started the day mixed on Thursday as investors continue to weigh upbeat data releases against the growing number of coronavirus infections. As of writing, the S&P 500 Index is down 0.1% on the day at 3,167 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is losing 0.25% at 25,945.

Tech shares lift Nasdaq to record highs

Boosted by the strong performance of technology shares, the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) touched a fresh all-time high of 10,576 at the opening but retreated slightly. As of writing, IXIC was up 0.45% on the day at 10,540.

Earlier in the day, the data published by the US Department of Labor revealed that 1.31 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits in the week ending July 4th. This data came in slightly better than the market expectation of 1.37 million.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Technology Index is up 0.6% on the day as the top-gainer. On the other hand, the Energy Index is down 1.5% pressured by a 1% drop in US crude oil prices.

Author

Eren Sengezer

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

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