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| - Major US stock indices ended higher on Thursday, after two days of losses and a volatile session that saw them go into the red before rebounding. Analysts said the rocky day came as traders shifted out of tech stocks and into cyclical equities that would benefit if the US economy improves from the Covid-19 downturn in the coming months. Investors are also concerned that lending rates will rise, further sapping momentum from tech firms and the Nasdaq at large. "Nasdaq stocks were treated at a very high valuable stocks when interest rates were zero but the more the interest rates start to go up, the valuation compresses tremendously," Boris Schlossberg of BK Asset Management said. "That's why the Nasdaq is much weaker than the S&P." The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.5 percent at the close to 3,909.52, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.1 percent to 12,977.68. The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.6 percent at 32,619.48. Before markets opened, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged in an interview with NPR that the central bank would one day raise rates and taper asset purchases implemented during the pandemic that are seen as one reason why stocks have boomed in recent months, but only when the economy is ready. "We will very, very gradually over time and with great transparency, when the economy has all but fully recovered, we will be... pulling back the support that we provided during emergency times," he said. But traders may have instead focused on Labor Department data showing 684,000 new applications for jobless claims were received last week, the first time the indicator has dropped below 700,000 since claims skyrocketed as the pandemic shut businesses nationwide. Stocks that would benefit as the economy returns to normal rose in the day's trading, with Boeing gaining 3.3 percent. United Airlines rose 4.1 percent, and American Airlines 4.4 percent. cs/bgs
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