After data showed that US jobless claims increased more than expected last week, technology stocks drove a rally in US equities, while bond yields and the dollar fell.
The S&P 500 gained 0.6%, bringing its gains since an October low to more than 20%, a level commonly referred to as a bull market.
The increase in jobless claims to the highest level since October 2021 indicates that the labour market, while largely resilient, is beginning to cool. This boosted the tech sector, which had been struggling due to speculation that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates higher for longer.
The Nasdaq 100 index gained 1.3%, while the Russell 2000 index lost 0.4%, bringing its weekly gains to around 3%. Carvana surged 56% among individual movers on the back of improved financial results. GameStop fell 18% after firing its CEO and reporting a sales miss. Adobe gained 5.0% on plans to sell a new AI subscription that includes copyright services.
