The US markets ended higher on Thursday, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 to fresh records during an otherwise tame session. Data showing an acceleration in producer prices and a drop in jobless claims suggested the economy is well and truly on the recovery track. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims edged down to 375,000 in the week ended August 7th, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level of 387,000. Street had expected jobless claims to dip to 375,000 from the 385,000 originally reported for the previous week. The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 396,250, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week's revised average of 394,500.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department released a separate report showing US producer prices increased more than expected in the month of July. The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand surged up by 1.0 percent in July, matching the jump seen in the previous month. Street had expected producer prices to climb by 0.6 percent. With the bigger than expected monthly increase, the annual rate of growth in producer prices accelerated to 7.8 percent in July from 7.3 percent in June. The year-over-year spike in producer prices reflected the largest advance since 12-month data were first calculated in November 2010.
Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14.88 points or 0.04 percent to 35,499.85, Nasdaq gained 51.13 points or 0.35 percent to 14,816.26 and S&P 500 was up by 13.13 points or 0.3 percent to 4,460.83.