US Stock Market Overview – Stock Rise as Yields Decline Following Weak Economic Data

US stocks moved higher on Thursday as yields moved lower following worse than expected US economic data. Jobless claims rose more than expected while the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index fell. Most sectors in the S&P 500 index were lower, led down by Energy shares, Real Estate bucked the trend. US jobless claims rebounded sharply rising back above the 1-million mark. Additionally, the US Philly Fed Manufacturing Index fell more than expected. Tesla continued to rally, rising above $2,000 per share briefly ahead of the share price split.

US Jobless Claims Rise More than Expected

Initial jobless claims rose more than expected according to a report from the Labor Department on Thursday. The BLS reported that initial jobless claims for the week ended August 15 came in at 1.106 million. Expectations were for a total of 923,000. Initial claims for the previous week were also revised higher by 8,000 to 971,000. Last week marked the first time in 21 weeks that initial claims came in below 1 million. Continuing claims declined by 636,000 to 14.844 million in the week ending August 8.

Philly Fed Fell More than Expected

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s manufacturing index fell 7 points to 17.2 in August. This is the second straight decline in the index after it hit 27.5 in June.The new orders index fell 4 points to 19. The shipments index fell 5.9 points to 9.4. The survey found that optimism about the next six months remained solid, with the index for future activity rising 3 points to 38.8.