Nasdaq tops 9,000 points for the first time in history

US jobless claims fall, pointing to labor market strength.

FILE - In this July 27, 2018 file photo, the logo for Amazon is displayed on a screen at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York
Shares of Nasdaq-listed Amazon.com rose more than 4 percent on Thursday on news that US shoppers spent more online this holiday season than in 2018 [File: Richard Drew/The Associated Press]

The Nasdaq crossed the 9,000-point mark for the first time on Thursday as all three major Wall Street indexes posted record closing highs, boosted by optimism over US-China trade relations and gains in shares of Amazon.com after a report signaled robust online holiday sales.

Traders returned from the Christmas break to digest comments from Beijing that it was in close contact with Washington about an initial trade agreement, shortly after US President Donald Trump talked up a signing ceremony for the recently struck Phase 1 trade deal.

Cooling US-China trade tensions have fuelled the latest leg of Wall Street’s record-setting rally. With just days to go until the year ends, the benchmark S&P 500 is up 29 percent so far this year, which would be its biggest annual percentage gain since 2013.

“The path of least resistance is up, right now,” said Carol Schleif, deputy chief investment officer of Abbot Downing in Minneapolis. “You have had a lot more clarity on certain things that had worried the market all year.”

Shares of Amazon jumped 4.1 percent after a Mastercard report showed shoppers in the United States spent more online during the holiday shopping season than in 2018, with e-commerce sales hitting a record high.

“The important part is that online sales were much stronger than expected. Brick-and-mortar were less than expected, so the online sales, and principally Amazon, saved the day,” said John Conlon, director, equity strategy at People’s United Advisors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 105.94 points, or 0.37 percent, to 28,621.39, the S&P 500 gained 16.53 points, or 0.51 percent, to 3,239.91 and the Nasdaq Composite added 69.51 points, or 0.78 percent, to 9,022.39.

Consumer discretionary was the biggest gainer among the S&P 500 sectors, spurred by Amazon. Healthcare lagged the most.

The Federal Reserve‘s interest rate cuts, economic data that has come in above low expectations, and corporate profits have helped lift stocks this year along with trade-relations optimism.

A US Labor Department report on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits fell last week in a sign of continuing labour market strength.

About 4.5 billion shares changed hands in US exchanges, well below the 6.8 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.

Trading volumes are expected to remain thin during the holiday-shortened week.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.87-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.22-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 37 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 120 new highs and 27 new lows. 

Source: Reuters