Investing.com - U.S. stocks rose on Thursday after weekly jobless claims made a surprising decline though ongoing fiscal uncertainty in Washington dampened gains.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.36%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.35%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.70%.
The U.S. Department of Labor revealed earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless claims in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 20 fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 305,000, from a downwardly revised 310,000 the previous week.
Analysts were expecting the figure to rise to 325,000, which gave stocks support by fanning hopes for more sustained recovery down the road.
Capping the greenback's advances, however, was an industry report released earlier showing that U.S. pending home sales dropped 1.6% in August, more than an expected 1.0% decline following a downwardly revised 1.4% contraction the previous month.
Also on Thursday, official data showed that the U.S. economy expanded by 2.5% in the second quarter, just shy of expectations for a 2.6% expansion.
Fears of a government shutdown due to congressional deadlock over raising the U.S. debt ceiling with the arrival of October convinced many to remain on the sidelines, which dampened gains as well.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Nike, up 2.12%, Verizon, up 1.58%, and Walt Disney, up 1.24%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Cisco, down 2.70%, Intel, down 1.18%, and Chevron, down 0.47%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished largely lower.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.23%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.21%, while Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.02%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 0.21%.
On Friday, the U.S. is to round up the week with revised data on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations from the University of Michigan as well as data on personal income and expenditure.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.36%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.35%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.70%.
The U.S. Department of Labor revealed earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless claims in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 20 fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 305,000, from a downwardly revised 310,000 the previous week.
Analysts were expecting the figure to rise to 325,000, which gave stocks support by fanning hopes for more sustained recovery down the road.
Capping the greenback's advances, however, was an industry report released earlier showing that U.S. pending home sales dropped 1.6% in August, more than an expected 1.0% decline following a downwardly revised 1.4% contraction the previous month.
Also on Thursday, official data showed that the U.S. economy expanded by 2.5% in the second quarter, just shy of expectations for a 2.6% expansion.
Fears of a government shutdown due to congressional deadlock over raising the U.S. debt ceiling with the arrival of October convinced many to remain on the sidelines, which dampened gains as well.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Nike, up 2.12%, Verizon, up 1.58%, and Walt Disney, up 1.24%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Cisco, down 2.70%, Intel, down 1.18%, and Chevron, down 0.47%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished largely lower.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.23%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.21%, while Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.02%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 0.21%.
On Friday, the U.S. is to round up the week with revised data on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations from the University of Michigan as well as data on personal income and expenditure.