U.S. Stocks Close On Bright Note; Nasdaq Climbs Nearly 2.3 Percent

(RTTNews) - U.S. stocks rallied sharply on Thursday, extending recent gains, as investors indulged in some strong buying in several sectors amid hopes the central bank would gradually start lightening its policy stance later this year.

The minutes from the Federal Reserve's June meeting, released on Wednesday, said the members of the central bank said there would be another 50 or 75-basis point move in the July meeting.

The minutes also said that the participants continued to anticipate that ongoing increases in the target range for the federal funds would be appropriate to achieve the monetary policy committee's objectives.

Still, worries about a recession eased a bit as Fed officials have acknowledged that higher rates might have a "larger-than-anticipated" impact on growth and feel that an increase of 50 or 75 basis points would likely be appropriate at the policy meeting in July.

South Korean major Samsung Electronics's better than expected guidance - the company forecast an 11.4 percent increase in second-quarter operating profit from the prior year - buoyed up shares of chipmakers, and higher crude oil prices pushed up energy stocks.

The major averages all ended the session with strong gains, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq extending their winning streak to a fourth session.

The Dow ended with a gain of 346.87 points or 1.12 percent at 31,384.55. The S&P 500 advanced 57.54 points or 1.5 percent to 3,902.62, while the Nasdaq climbed 259.49 points or 2.28 percent to settle at 11,621.35.

On the economic front, data released by the Commerce Department shows U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $85.5 billion in May of 2022, from $87.1 billion a month earlier.

Exports were up 1.2 percent or $3.0 billion in May from a month earlier, to $255.9 billion, while imports increased to $341.4 billion in May from $339.5 billion in April.

Data from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims rose to 235,000 in the week ended July 2nd. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, initial claims rose by 11,919 from the previous week to 219,507.

Among the prominent gainers, Caterpillar, Nike and Intel moved up 3 to 5 percent. Boeing, JP Morgan, Apple, Salesforce.com, American Express, Chevron and IBM gained more than 2 percent.

Walt Disney, Goldman Sachs, Cisco Systems, Home Depot and Walgreens Boots Alliance also ended notably higher.

Shares of GameStop Corp are soaring more than 13 percent as the video game retailer's board approved a four-for-one stock split.

In overseas trading, Asian stocks ended broadly higher on Thursday despite the U.S Federal Reserve's minutes of the meeting held last month indicating a hawkish stance. According to the minutes, officials said an increase of 50 or 75 basis points would be likely at the policy later this month.

The major European markets closed on a buoyant note on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session, as worries about inflation eased a bit after the Fed minutes said the policymakers reiterated a tough stance to rein in soaring consumer prices.

Better-than-expected earnings guidance from Samsung Electronics for the second quarter contributed as well to the positive sentiment in the markets.

The markets also digested news about British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's resignation after scores of top officials announced their resignations over the past two days.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 1.88 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 1.14 percent, Germany's DAX surged 1.97 percent, and France's CAC 40 spurted 1.6 percent.

Looking Ahead

U.S. non-farm payroll data for the month of June is due on Friday. Reports on wholesale sales for the month of May, and U.S. oil & gas rigs count for the week ended July 8th are also due tomorrow.