The S&P 500 ended a five-session slide on Thursday as major U.S. equity indexes booked a solid round of daily gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
rose about 182 points, or 0.5%, closing near 33,780, while the S&P 500 index
SPX,
gained 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
outperformed with a 1.1% advance, according to FactSet data. Investors were migrating back into stocks after weekly labor market data pointed to potential weakness, with businesses not hiring as many workers. A roaring labor market has been one of several factors keeping Wall Street on edge as the Federal Reserve has been trying to cool high inflation by sharply raising interest rates. Rising wages have threatened to throw a wrench in that effort, while also rekindling fears that the U.S. central bank might need to get even more aggressive than earlier anticipated with its rate hiking plans. Higher rates have weighed heavily on stocks and bonds in 2022, but could also threaten to tip the U.S. economy into a deeper recession than expected in the coming months. The 10-year Treasury rate rose 8.5 basis points to 3.492% on Thursday.
