Dow jumps 1,100 points, heads for 3-day win streak as Wall Street shakes off record jobless claims

Stocks surged for a third straight day on Thursday as investors shrugged off the release of record-breaking initial jobless claims while the Senate passed a massive economic stimulus bill amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped more than 1,100 points, or 5.4%. The S&P 500 gained 4.8% while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 4.1%. Those gains put the Dow and S&P 500 on track for a three-day winning streak.

Boeing, American Express and Nike drove the Dow’s gains, with each stock rising more than 8%. Utilities and energy were the best-performing sectors in the S&P 500 as both traded more than 5% higher.

The Labor Department said Thursday unemployment benefit claims soared to 3.28 million last week, a record. That number blew past the Great Recession peak of 695,000. However, the record-setting number was still better than some of the most dire estimates on Wall Street. Citi, for example, expected a spike to 4 million.

Thursday’s gain follows the S&P 500 and Dow completing their first two-day winning streak since February. Wednesday’s gains extended Tuesday’s historic rally, which saw the Dow register its best day since 1933 and post its largest single-day point gain in history. Tuesday was the S&P 500′s best day since 2008.

Stocks still have a lot of ground to make up for before returning to record highs. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq entered Thursday’s session down at least 24.9% from their respective all-time highs set last month.

Dow jumps 1,100 points, heads for 3-day win streak as Wall Street shakes off record jobless claims, CNBC, Mar 26