New York — Wall Street's main indexes closed higher in choppy trading on Thursday, with bank stocks soaring ahead of annual stress test results and helping to offset investor jitters over alarming increases in new coronavirus cases.
But investors remained nervous throughout the day as the number of new virus cases in US states grew, especially in the West and South. A flare-up in virus cases in recent days has taken some wind out of a Wall Street rally powered by hopes of a quick economic recovery and huge government stimulus efforts.While bank stocks appeared to provide the biggest boost on Thursday, Michael James, MD of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles, said investors were broadly buying the dip after Wednesday's pullback in stocks.
All the three major indexes had opened Thursday's session lower after data showed the number of Americans filing say for unemployment benefits fell less than expected last week, likely as hiring by reopening businesses is being partly offset by a second wave of layoffs.