US Stocks indexes reach new record highs

The US stocks finished firmly positive on Thursday, 17 December 2020, with the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average all finishing near record territory after data showing a slowdown in the US labour market stoked investor bets that US Congressional leaders will clinch a US$900 billion stimulus deal.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index advanced 148.83 points, or 0.49%, to 30,303.37. The S&P 500 index added 21.31 points, or 0.58%, to 3,722.48. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 106.56 points, or 0.84%, to 12,764.74.

Stocks clinched new record territory amid positive developments on the stimulus front, with lawmakers signaling progress toward an agreement on a new relief package. Following a meeting with other congressional leaders, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., said the talks have made "major headway toward hammering out a targeted pandemic relief package that would be able to pass both chambers with bipartisan majorities." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., agreed that the two sides are "close to an agreement" but cautioned that it's "not a done deal yet."

On the vaccine front, US experts were set to meet to decide whether to recommend approval of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine, potentially paving the way for a second vaccine early next week after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Shares of Accenture jumped 6.9% after it forecast upbeat full-year revenue due to strong demand for its digital, cloud and security services. The Dow Jones index closed up by 149

ECONOMIC NEWS: US Weekly Jobless Claims Rise Further- US initial jobless claims rose to 885,000 in the week ended December 12th, an increase of 23,000 from the previous week's revised level of 862,000, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. With the unexpected increase, jobless claims climbed to their highest level since hitting 893,000 in the week ended September 5th.

US Housing Starts, Building Permits Spike In November- US housing starts jumped by 1.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.547 million in November from a revised October rate of 1.528 million, a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed. With the unexpected increase, housing starts reached their highest annual rate since hitting 1.567 million in February. Multi-family housing starts led the way higher, surging up by 4.0 percent to a rate of 361,000, while single-family housing starts edged up by 0.4 percent to a rate of 1.186 million. The report also said building permits spiked by 6.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.639 million in November from 1.544 million in October.

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