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U.S. stocks closed mostly higher on Thursday as investors remained hopeful about more positive news on trade deals and digested a fresh batch of economic data, while Treasury yields dropped, giving a boost to markets.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.7% or 271.69 points, to end at 42,322.75 points, snapping its two-day losing streak.
The S&P 500 added 0.4% to end at 5,916.93 points, recording its fourth-straight session of gains. Utilities, consumer discretionary and real estate stocks were the biggest gainers.
The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) each gained 2.1%. The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) rose 1.8%. Ten of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.2% to finish at 19,112.31 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 4.24% to 17.83. A total of 17.9 billion shares were traded on Thursday, higher than the last 20-session average of 16.8 billion.
Positive Sentiment Continues to Boost Markets
Investors remained confident on Thursday, helping the broader market. The positive sentiment has continued throughout the week after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese officials reached a short-term trade truce over the weekend.
Market participants believe further negotiations between the United States and China will further ease trade tensions and help the economy from slipping into a recession.
Tech stocks have been doing well this week, with shares of Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) and NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) both up more than 15% week to date.
Investors also digested some fresh economic data. Retail sales rose 0.1% in April, which came in line with the consensus estimate. Although it is lower than the 1.7% jump in March, the marginal rise is being seen as a positive.
Investors also assessed the state of the economy after the producer price index (PPI) showed a sharp decline in April. PPI fell 0.5% sequentially in April compared to analysts’ expectations of a rise of 0.3%.
Treasury yields fell after the PPI report. The 10-year Treasury yield fell more than 8 basis points to 4.44%.
Meanwhile, shares of Walmart, Inc. (WMT) declined even after beating on earnings as the retail giant said that it would start raising prices later this month due to tariffs. Walmart reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings of $0.61 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.57 per share. Walmart carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.