NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rallied Thursday in Wall Street’s latest sharp swerve after a better-than-expected report on unemployment eased worries about the slowing economy.
The S&P 500 jumped 2.3% for its best day since 2022 and shaved off all but 0.5% of its loss from what was a brutal start to the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 683 points, or 1.8%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 2.9% as Nvidia and other Big Tech stocks helped lead the way.
Click to Gallery
The monitor of specialist Anthony Matesic is seen through his glasses as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist John O'Hara works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Robert Moran works in his booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, and the KOSDAQ (Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders watch a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Treasury yields also climbed in the bond market in a signal investors are feeling less worried about the economy after a report showed fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week. The number was better than economists expected.
It was exactly a week ago that worse-than-expected data on unemployment claims helped enflame worries that the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates at too high of an economy-slowing level for too long in order to beat inflation. That helped send markets reeling, along with a rate hike by the Bank of Japan that sent shockwaves worldwide by scrambling a favorite trade among some hedge funds.
At the worst of it, at least so far, the S&P 500 was down nearly 10% from its all-time high set last month. Such drops are regular occurrences on Wall Street, and “corrections” of 10% happen roughly every year or two. After Thursday's jump, the index is back within about 6% of its record.
What made this decline particularly scary was how quickly it happened. A measure of how much investors are paying to protect themselves from future drops for the S&P 500 briefly surged toward its highest level since the COVID crash of 2020.
Still, the market’s swings look more like a “positioning-driven crash” caused by too many investors piling into similar trades and then exiting them together, rather than the start of a long-term downward market caused by a recession, according to strategists at BNP Paribas.
They say it looks more similar to the “flash crash” of 2010 than the 2008 global financial crisis or the 2020 recession caused by the pandemic.
Of course, markets have been quick to turn over the past week regardless of any long-term predictions.
“Today’s jobless claims data may ease some of the concerns raised by last week’s soft jobs report,” said Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley. “But with inflation data due out next week and the stock market still working through its biggest pullback of the year, it’s unclear how much this will move the sentiment needle.”
In the meantime, big U.S. companies continue to turn in profit reports for the spring that are mostly better than analysts expected.
Eli Lilly jumped 9.5% to help lead the market after it delivered stronger profit and revenue than Wall Street had forecast. Sales of its Mounjaro diabetes treatment and its Zepbound weight-loss counterpart are booming, and the company raised its financial forecast for the year.
Big Tech stocks also rose to claw back some of their sharp losses from the last month.
After a handful of them almost singlehandedly drove the S&P 500 to dozens of all-time highs this year, the group known as the “Magnificent Seven” lost momentum last month amid criticism their prices soared too high in investors’ frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology.
How this handful of stocks performs carries extra impact on the S&P 500 and other indexes because they’re by far the market’s most valuable companies. Nvidia, which has become the poster child for the AI trade, rose 6.1% to trim its loss for the week so far to 2.1%, and it was the day’s strongest single force pushing upward on the S&P 500.
Gains of 1.7% for Apple and 4.2% for Meta Platforms were also big propellants, along with Eli Lilly.
They helped offset a drop of 11.3% for McKesson, which topped analysts’ expectations for profit in the latest quarter but fell short on revenue. It said growth slowed in its medical-surgical business.
Bumble, the Texas-based dating app, lost more than a quarter of its value, 29.2%, after its forecast for revenue in the third quarter came in well below Wall Street’s.
All told, the S&P 500 rallied 119.81 points to 5,319.31. The Dow gained 683.04 to 39,446.49, and the Nasdaq composite rose 464.22 to 16,660.02.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.99% from 3.95% late Wednesday.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Asia and Europe. In Japan, which has been home to some of the wildest moves in global markets, the Nikkei 225 ticked down by 0.7%. That looked like a ripple following its tidal swings of down 12.4% and up 10.2% to start the week.
AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.
The monitor of specialist Anthony Matesic is seen through his glasses as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist John O'Hara works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Robert Moran works in his booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, and the KOSDAQ (Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders watch a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
BANGKOK (AP) — It's a big day for LGBTQ+ couples in Thailand.
On Thursday, they gained the legal right to register their marriages, making it the first country in Southeast Asia and the third place in Asia to recognize same-sex unions, after Taiwan and Nepal. In central Bangkok, a popular shopping mall held a daylong gala to help accommodate the hundreds of same-sex couples who wanted to register their marriages on the very first day.
Thailand has a reputation for acceptance and inclusivity but struggled for decades to pass a marriage equality law. Thai society has broadly conservative values, and members of the LGBTQ+ community say they face discrimination in everyday life, while also saying they've seen great improvement in recent years.
The marriage equality bill was officially written into law on Sept. 24, after it was endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
The government led by the Pheu Thai party made marriage equality one of its main goals after coming to power in 2023. It had a major presence at the annual Bangkok Pride parade in June, with thousands of people celebrating in one of Bangkok’s busiest commercial districts.
The Associated Press spoke with seven same-sex couples in the days before the law took effect:
“This law doesn’t only equate life. It is life! At long last, Thailand’s society accepts the legality of all marriages in our land, regardless of sexual orientation. With that one sentence, lost or wasted lives have been rescued. Spirits restored. The whole country is better off.” — Jakrapob Penkair
“The marriage equality law will bring about a multitude of positive outcomes, especially by providing greater security and legal assurances for our relationships, including better access to health care and other protections. I’m truly happy this day has finally become a reality,” — Prorawin Battemdee
“The enforcement of the marriage equality law is proof that regardless of our gender, we all share the same basic human rights in every aspect under Thai law. It also paves the way for other countries in Asia, highlighting the importance of recognizing each other’s human values and enabling everyone to live.” — Kullayahnut Akkharasretthabudh
“This law will grant both of us the right to take care of each other, legally sign consent for the other’s medical treatment, and provide each other with lifelong security. When one of us dies, the law will ensure that our bond is recognized and protected.” — Chantamas Hemapanpairo
"We’re quite fortunate. We have a supportive social circle, friends, and family who accept us for who we are and accept the person we love. Marriage, it seems, isn’t everything that fulfills us emotionally. “However, ultimately, we believe that as two human beings, we should be granted the same basic legal rights as heterosexual couples. We are a complete family in spirit, but legal recognition would alleviate our future anxieties. In the end, we aren’t asking for anything special — we just want a simple, happy family life.” — Patherine Khunnares
“Before the marriage equality bill became law, I personally felt that I could only use the word ‘partner.’ But from now on, it’s ‘family.’ — Jutarat Chuenpae
“The marriage equality law allows everyone’s lives to complete each other without any further discrimination.” — Panuwat Srisawat
Follow AP visual journalism:
AP Images blog: http://apimagesblog.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apnews
X: http://twitter.com/AP_Images
FILE - Participants hold a rainbow flag during the Pride Parade in Bangkok, Thailand, June 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
Panuwat Srisawat, 35, hair creative, left, and Kritsanai Promsiriruk, 62, actor, stand for a portrait in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Nutanong sopon, 43, left, and Jutarat chuenpae, 37, both business owners, hold hands and jump for a photograph in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Patherine Khunnares, 37, web designer, left, and Vivian Chullamon, 36, researcher, stand for a photograph in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Chantamas Hemapanpairo, 52, business owner, and Sirada Thongchua, 38, teacher, pose for a portrait in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Juthatip Suttiwong, 24, chef, left, and Kullayahnut Akkharasretthabudh, 38, real estate owner, pose for a portrait in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Pitee Chuchomchuen, 39, designer, left, and Prorawin Battemdee, 40, public relations officer, pose for a photograph in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Jakrapob Penkair, right, 57, former Prime Minister's Office minister, and Supraipon Chuaychoo, 44, tourism business owner, sit for a photograph in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)