NEW YORK, June 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded higher on Thursday, as investors digested the latest jobless data and U.S. Federal Reserve's dovish messages that indicate potential rate cuts later this year.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 165.16 points, or 0.62 percent, to 26,669.16. The S&P 500 was up 17.84 points, or 0.61 percent, to 2,944.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 49.85 points, or 0.62 percent, to 8,037.17.
Shares of Oracle rose nearly 8.2 percent, after the California-based software company reported first-quarter earnings that beat market expectations. The results were driven primarily by its IT offerings, cloud and license support services.
Shares of Tesla fell nearly 3.4 percent, as Goldman Sachs revised its price target on the electric vehicle producer's stock down to 158 U.S. dollars per share from 200 dollars apiece, as the investment bank remained concerned over sustainable demand for the automaker.
Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded higher around midday, with the energy sector up nearly 2.2 percent, leading the gainers.
On the economic front, U.S. jobless claims, a key metric to gauge unemployment, fell and approached close to the lowest level in decades, indicating a strong labor market.
The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits fell to 216,000 for the week ending June 15, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Wall Street has been lifted by U.S. Federal Reserve's loosening stance on monetary policy after a two-day meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
The Fed decided to hold federal funds rate steady at 2.25 to 2.5 percent, yet hinted at possible rate cuts later this year, saying it "will act as appropriate to sustain expansion."
Noting that uncertainties about the economic outlook "have increased," the central bank dropped the "patient" language shown in its previous statements, adding that inflation fell below its objective of 2 percent. Enditem
