WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the lackluster performance seen over the
two previous sessions, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday.
The Dow extended its winning streak to seven sessions, once again reaching its
best closing level in over a month.

The major averages ended the day just off their highs of the session. The Dow
jumped 331.37 points or 0.9 percent to 39,387.76, the S&P 500 climbed 26.41
points or 0.5 percent to 5,214.08 and the Nasdaq rose 43.51 points or 0.3
percent to 16,346.26.

The strength on Wall Street came following the release of a Labor Department
report showing a much bigger than expected increase by first-time claims for
U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended May 4th.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 231,000, an increase of 22,000
from the previous week's revised level of 209,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 210,000 from the 208,000
originally reported for the previous week.

With the much bigger than expected increase, jobless claims reached their
highest level since hitting 234,000 in week ended August 26th.

The data may added to recently renewed optimism that the Federal Reserve will
lower interest rates in the coming months.

While the Fed is still widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged in
June, the chances rates will be lower by September have reached 89.3 percent,
according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

Among individual stocks, shares of AppLovin (APP) skyrocketed after the mobile
technology company reported first quarter results that beat expectations on both
the top and bottom lines.

Glasses retailer Warby Parker (WRBY) also showed a substantial move to the
upside after reporting a narrower than expected first quarter loss on revenues
that exceeded estimates.

On the other hand, shares of Airbnb (ABNB) moved sharply lower after the
vacation rental company reported better than expected first quarter results but
provided disappointing guidance.

Sector News

Telecom stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session,
resulting in a 4.2 percent spike by the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index.

Significant strength was also visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.5
percent jump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The strength in the sector came
amid an increase by the price of gold.

Commercial real estate stocks also showed a strong move to the upside on the
day, driving the Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index up by 2.1 percent.

Oil service, housing and steel stocks also saw considerable strength, moving
higher along with most of the other major sectors.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in
another mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index
fell by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged by 1.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While
the German DAX Index jumped by 1.0 percent, the French CAC 40 Index climbed by
0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries rebounded following the modest pullback seen on
Wednesday. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves
opposite of its price, slid 4.3 basis points to a one-month closing low of 4.449
percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading on Friday may be impact by reaction to a report on consumer sentiment in
the month of May, which includes readings on inflation expectations. Remarks by
several Fed officials may also attract attention along with the latest earnings
news.



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