NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street's major averages rose on Thursday, reclaiming some of the ground they had surrendered recently.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 183.56 points, or 0.55 percent, to 33,781.48. The S&P 500 added 29.59 points, or 0.75 percent, to 3,963.51, breaking five days of losses. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 123.45 points, or 1.13 percent, to 11,082.00.
Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with technology and consumer discretionary up 1.59 percent and 1.05 percent, respectively, outpacing the rest. Communication services and energy slipped 0.5 percent and 0.47 percent, respectively, the only two declining groups.
Investors felt some relief after data showed an uptick in U.S. jobless claims.
The U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of Americans filing for first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose by 4,000 to 230,000 in the week ending Dec. 3, roughly in line with market estimates.
Continuing claims, which include people who have already received unemployment benefits for a week or more, rose by 62,000 to 1.67 million during the week ending Nov. 26. That marked the highest reading since February, pointing to a potential cooling in the job market.
Investors were also cautiously awaiting next week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting, hoping to get a clearer view of the central bank's next move.
FYI: https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf
