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On Thursday, Wall Street closed higher on positive economic data and mixed fourth-quarter earnings, with the Nasdaq, the Dow and the S&P 500 all ending in the green.

How Did the Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.9% or 408.34 points to close at 44,565.07. Within the 30-stock index, 26 components ended in positive territory, while four finished in the negative zone.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 44.34 points or 0.2% to 20,053.68.

The S&P 500 gained 0.5%, or 32.34 points, to end at 6,118.71. All 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV), Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI), and Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) gained 1.3%, 1% and 0.6%, respectively.

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 0.5% to 15.02. A total of 13.54 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 14.38 billion. The S&P 500 posted 32 new 52-week highs and six new lows. The Nasdaq Composite recorded 77 new highs and 116 new lows.

Mixed Q4 Earnings Results

McCormick & Company, Incorporated MKC reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $0.80 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.77. Revenues of $1.8 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.79%.

First BanCorp. FBP reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $0.46 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.41. Revenues of $241.47 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.50%.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation AUB reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $0.67 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.76. Revenues of $222.27 million billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.54%.

Consequently, shares of McCormick & Company and First BanCorp rose 2.1% and 5.8%, respectively, while Atlantic Union Bankshares fell 3.4%. First BanCorp. currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

Weekly Jobless Claims Rise, Continuing Claims Hit 2021 Levels

The Labor Department reported on Thursday that jobless claims totaled 223,000 for the week ending Jan. 18, increasing 6,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 217,000. The four-week moving average was 213,500, an increase of 750 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 212,750.

Continuing claims came in at 1,899,000, an increase of 46,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,853,000 — the highest level for insured unemployment since Nov. 13, 2021. The 4-week moving average was 1,865,750, an increase of 500 from the previous week's revised average of 1,865,250.

Story Continues

Weekly Drop in U.S. Crude Oil Inventories

For the week ended Jan. 17, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) decreased by 1.0 million barrels from the previous week.

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