Stock Market Today: Dow Extends Win Streak as Tech Stays Strong Ahead of Jobs Data By

© Reuters.

By Yasin Ebrahim

-- The vt marketsDow closed higher Thursday, stretching its win streak to four straight days as dip-buying in tech continued and energy stocks mounted a recovery ahead of a key monthly jobs report due Friday.   

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1%, or 346 points, the Nasdaq was up 2.3%, and the S&P 500 rose 1.5%.  

Energy stocks clawed back some of their recent losses as oil prices shrugged off data showing U.S. weekly crude inventories unexpectedly rose by 8.2 million barrels in the week ended July 1.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG), Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO), and APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) were among the biggest gainers with the latter up more than 7%

Chip stocks rose more than 4% to push the broader tech sector higher after Samsung’s better-than-feared results and guidance lifted worries about the outlook for chip demand. Samsung forecast an 11.4% rise in second-quarter operating profit from the prior year, with revenue expected to rise by 20.9% in the quarter year-on-year.

Still, some on Wall Street aren’t convinced that the doom and gloom that was hanging over chip stocks is over.

“We are less inclined to see positive derivatives from [Samsung’s] better than expected profit number, particularly given memory peer Micron's (NASDAQ:MU) solid FQ3 result and soft FQ4 guide,” Wedbush said.

The ongoing strength in tech comes even as Treasury yields tacked on gains despite expectations for aggressive Fed Rate hikes dissipating following recent data showing a slowing economy and signs that inflation could be peaking.

“[W]hile the Fed remains focused on inflation, the reversal in market pressures could offer the Committee cover if they did decide to make a smaller move in July,” Stifel said.

Initial jobless claims ticked up to the highest level since January, though analysts continued to note that the labor market remains tight. Jobless claims are “still very low relative to history, and it is consistent with tight labor market conditions,” Jefferies said in a note.

The update comes just a day ahead of Friday's nonfarm payroll report, which is expected to show that the U.S. economy created 268,000 jobs in June, fewer than the 390,000 seen in May.  

In other news, GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) jumped more than 14% after its board backed a 4-for-1 stock split as the video game retailer looks to attract more retail investors.

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