Nasdaq drives third day of stock gains

U.S. stock markets ticked higher Thursday as investors weighed an unexpected increase in first-time jobless filings against a flurry of mostly better-than-expected earnings reports. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 24 points, or 0.07%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.2% and 0.36%, respectively. All three of the major averages closed within 0.5% of their respective record highs.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
I:DJI	DOW JONES AVERAGES	44661.28	+364.77	+0.82%
SP500	S&P 500	5985.61	+16.27	+0.27%
I:COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	19058.67347	+55.02	+0.29%

On the economic front, 419,000 Americans filed for first-time jobless benefits last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. Wall Street analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting 350,000 filings. Continuing claims, meanwhile, fell to 3.236 million, the lowest since March 2020. 

In stocks, earnings reports continued to roll out.                                            

American Airlines Inc. earned a quarterly profit for the first time in six quarters, helped by a rebound in travel and more than $1 billion of federal support. 

Rival Southwest Airlines Co. said its quarterly loss narrowed and that it is "hopeful" to be profitable for the rest of the year as leisure travel picks up. The airline said it turned cash flow positive in June. 

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
AAL	AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC.	14.37	+0.17	+1.20%
LUV	SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.	31.97	+0.18	+0.57%
CSX	CSX CORP.	35.78	+0.44	+1.25%

CSX Corp.’s quarterly profit more than doubled as the railroad operator delivered 27% more freight than a year ago. 

Meanwhile, Dominos Pizza, whose global sales rose 17.1%, announced a new $1 billion buyback plan.

DOMINOS PIZZA SHARES HIT RECORD

AT&T Inc. reported strong wireless subscription additions, fueled by more customers switching to 5G phones. The company hiked both its full-year revenue and adjusted earnings per share outlooks.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
DPZ	DOMINO'S PIZZA INC.	471.84	+19.03	+4.20%
T	AT&T INC.	23.18	+0.20	+0.87%
DHI	D.R. HORTON INC.	173.67	+10.16	+6.22%

D.R. Horton reported quarterly profit spiked 77% from a year ago as tight supplies led to record prices. However, the home builder said high lumber prices and a labor shortage caused it to take fewer orders during the quarter. Still, the company raised its forecasts for 2021 revenue and home deliveries.

Chipmaker Texas Instruments Inc. posted strong quarterly results but warned the current quarter could disappoint.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
TXN	TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED	198.00	-0.20	-0.10%

In deals, Uber Freight, the trucking division of Uber Inc., will acquire logistics company Transplace from private equity firm TPG Capital for $2.25 billion in cash and stock.  

Elsewhere, Visa Inc. agreed to buy U.K.-based cross-border payments provider Currencycloud at a valuation of 700 million pounds ($962 million). Visa has owned a stake in Currencycloud since last year. 

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
UBER	UBER TECHNOLOGIES INC.	72.82	+1.31	+1.83%
V	VISA INC.	309.92	+0.02	+0.01%

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil rallied $1.61 to $71.91 a barrel and gold gained $2.10 to $1,805 an ounce.

Overseas markets were mostly higher. 

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Germany’s DAX 30 and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.6% and 0.26%, respectively, after the European Central Bank said it would keep rates at record lows for even longer in an effort to boost inflation. Elsewhere in the region, Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.43%.  

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 1.83% and China’s Shanghai Composite edged up 0.34%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was closed for holiday.