Stock markets traded on bullish territory on Thursday

Stock markets traded on bullish territory on Thursday

Stock markets edged up on Thursday, trading in bullish territory. China’s rally continued, encouraging investors. The latest checkup on U.S. weekly unemployment claims was also better than expected, further boosting optimism.

The Nasdaq 100 futures surged forward by 0.8% above fair value on Thursday. The S&P 500 futures also gained 0.3%, and the Dow Jones futures edged up by 0.1%. NetEase and JD.com climbed up to the top of the Nasdaq 100. Meanwhile, Futu Holdings led the way among IBD 50 futures.

The Labor Department declared that 1.314 million U.S. citizens filed first-time unemployment claims in the holiday weekend ending on July 4. Analysts expected 1.375 million claims, but there were 113,000 claims fewer than those filed in the prior week. The number of insured also lowered to 18.06 million for the week ending on June 27, with the four-week average at 19.09 million.

Carnival’s cruise lines announced that they are restarting their operations. As a result, Carnival stock skyrocketed by 4.4%, ending up at the top of the S&P 500. On Thursday, the company stated that it would begin rolling out a gradual restart of its cruise operations in August.

F5 Networks also gained 1.5% after an upgrade to the overweight category from Morgan Stanley. And an analyst upgrade bolstered Autodesk by 2.9%, nearing the top of the S&P 500. On the other hand, Walgreens tumbled down to the bottom of the Dow Jones.

 

Chinese market gained significantly during the last session

China’s mainland markets traded in the green for an eighth-straight session, with the Shanghai Composite moving within a 4% range of a January 2018 high. Individual investors have been piling into the Shenzhen and Shanghai markets after a raft of bullish articles from state-run media over the past week.

NetEase rallied by more than 8%, while JD.com skyrocketed by 4%, and Baidu soared by 2.6%. Presently Baidu is in a buy range above a handle buy point at 128.38. Overall, china-based stocks were quite strong early on Thursday.