Investing.com – U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday, after better than expected U.S. initial jobless claims data boosted sentiment while investors eyed a two-day meeting between U.S. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
A bullish U.S. initial jobless report on Thursday, added to narrative of a strengthening U.S. economy, after the U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial jobless claims decreased by 25,000 to 234,000 in the week ending April 1 from the previous week’s revised total of 259,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to drop by 8,000 to 250,000 last week.
Meanwhile, on the political front, President Donald Trump responded Thursday, to this week’s chemical attack in Syria and blamed the attack on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“I think what Assad did is terrible” President Trump said Thursday, and added that “something should happen” with regard to Syrian President al-Assad.
President Trump’s comments came ahead of a two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, later today.
President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to discuss a number of sensitive topics, including trade and North Korea.
In corporate news, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) shares slumped more than 6%, after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on the chipmaker’s stock with a sell rating.
Elsewhere, investors look ahead to a key Nonfarm payrolls report on Friday at 08:30 EDT / 12:30 BST. It is widely expected that 180,000 jobs were added to U.S. labor market in March.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.08% higher at 20,663. The S&P 500 gained 0.20% and the Nasdaq Composite closed 0.25% higher at 5878.95.
The top S&P 500 gainers L Brands Inc (NYSE:LB) up 11%, and Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) up 6.4%, while Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS) added 5.5%.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) down 6%, Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY) down 2.1% and Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) down 1.5%, were among the worst S&P 500 performers of the session.