Technology stocks drove a rally in U.S. equities while bond yields and the dollar fell after data showing U.S. jobless claims surged more than expected last week.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, bringing its gains since an October low past 20%, a level commonly referred to as a bull market.
The jump in jobless claims to the highest since October 2021 shows that the labor market, while largely resilient, is starting to show signs of cooling.
That delivered a boost to the tech sector, which has been flagging under speculation the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer.
“It’s still at pretty low levels in terms of initial claims. But maybe the fact that it’s perked up on a week-over-week basis gives the Fed a little bit more fodder to pause next week,” Emily Roland, co-chief investment strategist of John Hancock Investment Management, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York office.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 added 1.3%, while the Russell 2000 index fell 0.4%, paring its gains for the week to roughly 3%.
West Coast ships face delays
Most container ships through the biggest import gateway in the U.S. face delays as labor-related disruptions widen on the West Coast and threaten another cargo logjam.
“Basically every container vessel is having their schedule pushed back by about a day or two,” Richard Palmer of the Marine Exchange of Southern California said in an emailed operations update.
He said the main reason he’s seen is a lack of “lashers,” or longshoremen who secure containers aboard ships.
Palmer said agents for 10 of the vessels attributed the delays to a shortage of workers, and that some agencies didn’t want to comment on the labor situation or didn’t specify a reason for the delay.
From wire reports
U.S. West Coast ports are enduring the longest labor strife since 2015 as talks between port employers and dockworkers approach a full year without a contract.
Ships thrown off schedule can have ripple effects at other ports along their routes.
Labor shortages that started last week caused some terminals on the West Coast to close.
