Global Markets: Wall Street makes merry in post-Xmas trade, Nasdaq tops 9,000

Wall Street`s three main indexes ended significantly higher, with Nasdaq ticking above the 9,000 mark for the first time ever. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 105.94 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 28,621.39 on Thursday. The S&P 500 advanced 16.53 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 3,239.91. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 69.51 points, or 0.78 per cent, to 9,022.39, Xinhua reported.

The three major indexes hit new all-time highs during the session. Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closed higher, with consumer discretionary up 1.43 per cent, outpacing the rest. Health care fell 0.12 per cent, the only decliner. Apple stock climbed 1.98 per cent, leading the gainers in the Dow. Amazon soared 4.45 per cent after the e-commerce giant said the holiday shopping season broke all previous records.

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On the data front, in the week ending December 21, US initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, came in at 222,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week`s revised level, the US Department of Labor said on Thursday. The number was higher than economists` estimates of 220,000 polled by Dow Jones.