US stocks rose Thursday and rebounded from three consecutive days of losses as technology stocks made a comeback.
The S&P 500 gained 0.4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.7% as so-called FAANG stocks all traded higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 50 points.
Investors welcomed a better-than-expected report on unemployment claims Thursday. The number of initial jobless claims for the week ending May 15 was 444,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The economist polled by Dow Jones had expected 452,000 new claims.
Cisco’s shares fell 5% in premarket trading after the technology conglomerate released a weaker-than-expected earnings forecast for the current quarter.
The movement in futures followed a roller coaster ride on Wall Street sparked by a sudden drop in Bitcoin that resulted in a sharp sell-off in many speculative areas of the market. Cryptocurrency-related stocks, including Tesla, Coinbase and MicroStrategy, led the market decline as Bitcoin rose as much as 30% at one point on Wednesday.
After reaching nearly $ 30,000 at its low, Bitcoin made up for some of those losses later on Wednesday. The stock market closed well from its lows as Bitcoin rebounded.
On Thursday, the cryptocurrency was slightly higher at around $ 40,000, according to Coin Metrics. Coinbase stocks were higher early on the day of trading after Wedbush announced it would buy the crypto exchange despite the volatility.
“After all, crypto is the flagship for liquidity-related speculation, and the fact that it is now deflating … gives credibility to the feeling that risk markets are now gradually adjusting to the emerging prospect of peak liquidity,” a JPMorgan strategist said in a note.
The S&P 500 was down 1.6% from its session lows in the previous session, but made up most of the losses, closing just 0.3% as Bitcoin stabilized. The blue chip Dow ended the session roughly 160 points after losing 580 points at one point. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended the day flat, erasing a 1.7% decline.
Wednesday was the third straight day of losses for the Dow, which fell 1.4% for the week. The average lost about 1% last week as the market rebounded to highs.
On Wednesday, investors also digested the Federal Reserve’s April minutes, which indicated they might consider cutting their asset-buying programs in upcoming meetings.
“A number of participants suggested that it might be appropriate in the upcoming meetings to discuss a plan to adjust the pace of asset purchases if the economy continues to make rapid progress towards the committee’s objectives,” it said Fed Protocol.
– CNBC’s Maggie Fitzgerald contributed to the coverage.
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