U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday as investors reacted positively to economic data, boosting overall market sentiment. The Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500, and Dow all ended the session in positive territory.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.6%, or 306.78 points, to close at 49,384.01. Twenty-three components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, and 7 ended in negative territory. The major gainer of the Dow was 3M Company (MMM). The stock price of this diversified technology company rose 3.1%. MMM currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.9%, to close at 23,436.02.
The S&P 500 gained 0.6%, or 37.73 points, to end at 6,913.35. Out of 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index, seven ended in positive territory while four ended in negative territory. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY), the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) and the Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) rose 1.2%, 1.6%, and 0.7%, respectively, while the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) receded 0.7%.
The fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), decreased by 7.5% to 15.64.
GDP Growth Accelerates in Q3 2025
The Department of Commerce announced that U.S. GDP showed 4.4% growth during the third quarter of 2025 and 3.8% growth during the second quarter. The inflation data showed that prices remained steady during the last part of the year. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the PCE price index rose by 0.2% during both October and November 2025. Excluding food and energy, the core PCE price index also increased 0.2% in both months. On a year-over-year basis, the PCE price index rose 2.7% in October and 2.8% in November, remaining above the Federal Reserve’s target but showing no sharp acceleration.
The October personal income reached $30.6 billion (0.1%) above the previous month, and November personal income expanded by $80.0 billion (0.3%). The October disposable personal income increased by $12.0 billion (0.1%), and November saw a $63.7 billion (0.3%) rise in disposable personal income. The personal savings rate decreased from 3.7% in October to 3.5% in November.
Economic Data
The Labor Department reported on Wednesday that jobless claims totaled 200,000 for the week ending Jan. 22, increasing 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 199,000. The four-week moving average was 201,500, a decrease of 3,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 205,250.
Continuing claims came in at 1,849,000, a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,913,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,870,750, a decrease of 16,250 from the previous week's revised average of 1,887,000.
U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) increased by 3.6 million barrels for the week ended Jan. 16.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
