S&P 500 snaps five-day losing streak
Wall Street stocks shrugged off recent weakness and pushed higher on Thursday as tech shares rallied and the S&P 500 snapped a five-day losing streak. Shares of Apple and Amazon gained along with those of chip companies like Nvidia, advancing as equities sought to recover from a slump thus far in December, a typically strong month for stocks. The market this week has been buffeted by recession worries and fears that the Federal Reserve will maintain its aggressive posture to counter surging inflation. But the S&P 500 finished up 0.8 percent at 3,963, its first positive session since November 30. The Dow Jones rose 0.6 percent to 33,781, while the Nasdaq jumped 1.1 percent to 11,082. The gains come ahead of Friday's data on wholesale prices, a precursor to next week's anticipated reading on consumer costs. Among individual companies, Microsoft rose 1.2 percent as the US Federal Trade Commission sued to block its US$69 billion buyout of gaming giant Activision Blizzard, raising doubts on the future of the transaction. Officials from both companies expressed confidence the deal will still close. Shares of Activision fell 1.5 percent. ExxonMobil rose 0.6 percent after the oil giant said it would boost its share buyback programme to US$50 billion, rebuffing calls from President Joe Biden to steer extra cash towards increasing energy production. ExxonMobil, which has enjoyed record profits in 2022, said it plans to maintain its annual capital budget of US$20 billion to US$25 billion through 2027. (AFP)