AMD Advanced Micro Devices Inc

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open on Thursday, with stocks likely to see further upside after recovering from an initial pullback to end the previous session mostly higher.

Stocks may benefit from recent upward momentum, which has seen the markets close higher for two straight days despite concerns about tariffs and some disappointing earnings news.

Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

The report, which is expected to show employment climbed by 170,000 jobs in January after jumping by 256,000 jobs in December, could impact the outlook for interest rates.

A day ahead of the release of the more closely watched monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report this morning showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended February 1st.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 219,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 208,000.

Economists had expected initial jobless claims to rise to 213,000 from the 207,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Stocks came under pressure early in the session on Wednesday but showed a significant rebound over the course of the trading day. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day and into positive territory.

The major averages reached new highs for the session going into the close of trading. The Dow advanced 317.24 points or 0.7 percent to 44,873.28, the S&P 500 climbed 23.60 points or 0.4 percent to 6,061.48 and the Nasdaq rose 38.31 points or 0.2 percent to 19,692.33.

The rebound on Wall Street came amid a notable move to the downside by treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note slumping to its lowest closing level in well over a month.

Treasury yields tumbled after the Treasury Department said its current auction sizes leave it well positioned to address potential changes to the fiscal outlook.

Based on current projected borrowing needs, the Treasury said it anticipates maintaining long-term securities auction sizes for at least the next several quarters.

The initial pullback on Wall Street came amid weakness among tech stocks due to a negative reaction to earnings news from Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD).

Shares of Alphabet plunged by 7.3 percent after the Google parent reported better than expected fourth quarter earnings but its cloud revenues missed estimates.

Chip maker AMD also tumbled by 6.3 percent after reporting fourth quarter earnings and revenues that beat estimates but its data center sales fell short of expectations.

On the U.S. economic front, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing service sector growth in the U.S. unexpectedly slowed modestly in the month of January.

The ISM said its services PMI dipped to 52.8 in January from a revised 54.0 in December. While a reading above 50 still indicates growth, economists had expected the index to inch up to 54.3 from the 54.1 originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, payroll processor ADP released a separate report showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of January.

ADP said private sector employment climbed by 183,000 jobs in January after rising by an upwardly revised 176,000 jobs in December.

Economists had expected private sector employment to rise by 150,000 jobs compared to the addition of 122,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

Gold stocks moved sharply higher on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.7 percent to a three-month closing high.

The rally by gold stocks came as the price of the precious metal continues to climb to record highs amid concerns about the escalating U.S.-China trade war.

Computer hardware stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, resulting in a 2.5 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

Semiconductor, telecom and biotechnology stocks also showed strong moves to the upside, while airline saw significant weakness.

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