By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – The Nasdaq closed above 11,000 for the time ever on Thursday, as investors made a late dash into big tech and brushed off uncertainty over the timing of the next stimulus amid ongoing lawmaker jostling on Capitol Hill.
The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1% to 11,108. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.68%, or 185 points. The S&P 500 gained 0.66%.
Big tech stocks continued their run higher on Thursday, led by a 6.5% pop in shares of Facebook.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), which collectively make up about 20% of the S&P 500, closed more than 2% higher.
The move in tech helped eased worries about prolonged negotiations among U.S. lawmakers over the next fiscal stimulus package ahead of a self-imposed Friday deadline.
Lawmakers hinted that they will eventually reach a deal, but remain far apart on key issues including the enhanced $600-a-week unemployment benefit that was rolled out in March but has since lapsed.
"We have been making some progress, proceeding in a positive way. We’re not there yet," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at a news conference.
The slow pace of progress comes a day ahead of the nonfarm payrolls report for July, which economists expect to show a slowdown in the labor market.
Ahead of the crucial jobs report, the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims were less-than-expected at 1.186 million for the week ended August 1.
Sentiment on stocks was also lifted after the U.S. State Department lifted its advisory warning on American citizens traveling abroad.
Energy went from hero to zero, paring its gains from a day earlier as oil prices settled lower.
On the earnings front, Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) slumped 7% after the streaming device company warned of uncertain outlook in the second of the year, citing sluggish recovery in TV ad spending.
ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:VIAC) reported quarterly results that topped consensus estimates and said ad declines had bottomed out in the second quarter of the year, sending its shares more than 3% higher.