Investing.com — U.S. stocks traded in a muted fashion Thursday after the release of data indicated a cooling labor market, while tech heavyweight Nvidia continued to push higher.
At 09:40 ET (13:40 GMT), traded unchanged, while rose 5 points, or 0.1%, and rose 40 points, or 0.2%.
Cooling labor market boosts rate cut hopes
Data released earlier in the session showed that the number of Americans filing for rose by more than anticipated last week, climbing 229,000, up from an upwardly revised total of 221,000 in the prior week. Economists had seen the figure at 220,000.
The U.S. labor market has shown signs of cooling of late, with data released on Wednesday indicating that increased at a slower-than-anticipated rate in May, following on from a soft print the day before.
Friday sees the release of the widely-watched monthly report, with economists expecting the U.S. economy to have added 185,000 jobs, a modest uptick from the prior month.
Traders have ramped up bets that the Fed will cut rates by .
Nvidia continues to gain
The main indices posted gains on Wednesday, with Nvidia (NASDAQ:) the biggest boost to the and the , which both closed at record highs.
Nvidia (NASDAQ:) stock rose 1.3% Thursday, adding to Wednesday’s surge to a record high, crossing $3 trillion in valuation and overtaking Apple (NASDAQ:) as the second-largest company on Wall Street amid growing hype over its exposure to artificial intelligence.
Nvidia’s gains on Wednesday had helped the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite close at record highs.
Lululemon surges; Five Below, Victoria’s Secret fall
Elsewhere, sportswear retailer Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:) rose 4.9% after reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, while also raising its annual guidance.
Discount retailer Five Below (NASDAQ:) slid 16% after posting a disappointing forecast for full year earnings.
Victoria’s Secret (NYSE:) stock fell 6% after the lingerie chain posted a net loss of $4 million in the first quarter, citing caution around the broader retail environment in North America.
Crude on course for weekly losses
Crude prices edged higher Thursday, boosted by the overall positive sentiment, but are still on course for hefty weekly losses.
By 09:40 ET, the U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded 0.7% higher at $74.60 per barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 0.7% to $78.93 a barrel.
Both contracts are headed for weekly declines of around 4%, weighed down by the decision from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to leave room for voluntary output cuts to be unwound gradually, beginning in October.
The crude market was also hit by the news that stocks jumped by 1.2 million barrels in the week to May 31, compared with estimates for a draw of 2.3 million barrels, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)