The major US stock indices grew moderately, as concerns about the trade war between the US and China weakened.

In addition, market participants won back statistics on the United States. As it became known, the number of Americans applying for new unemployment benefits rose last week, but remained close to the minimum for several decades, offering new evidence of the strength of the labor market. Initial claims for unemployment benefits increased by 24,000 to 242,000, seasonally adjusted for the week to March 31, the Ministry of Labor said. Economists were expecting 225,000 new applications. The four-week moving average of primary hits, a more stable measure, increased by 3,000 to 228,250. Meanwhile, the number of repeated applications fell by 64,000 to 1,808,000 in the week to March 24, the lowest level since December 1973, when the rate was 1 805 000.

A separate report from the Ministry of Trade showed that the US trade deficit in February rose 1.6% to almost a 10-year high, underscoring the seemingly almost impossible task of the Trump administration to drastically reduce the gap that the president promised. The deficit of the US trade balance rose in February to $ 57.6 billion from $ 56.7 billion in the previous month. Economists predicted a gap of $ 56.9 billion. This is the biggest deficit since October 2008. Just a year ago, at the beginning of the first year of Trump's presidency, the deficit was 24% less at $ 45.9 billion. The reason for the expansion of the deficit was a record increase in imports and exports. Imports rose by 1.7% to $ 262 billion, aided by a significant increase in imports of crude oil and pharmaceuticals. The cost of oil imports reached its highest level in three years, although the number of imported barrels fell to a 3-year low, reflecting higher oil prices. Exports climbed 1.7%, as the US sent more cars and planes.

Most components of the DOW index finished trading in positive territory (27 out of 30). The leader of growth was the shares of The Boeing Company (BA, + 2.86%). Outsider were shares Pfizer Inc. (PFE, -0.99%).

All sectors of the S & P index recorded an increase. The commodities sector grew most (+ 2.0%).

At closing:

Dow 24,505.01 +240.71 +0.99%

S&P 500 2,662.82 +18.13 +0.69%

Nasdaq 100 7,076.55 +34.44 +0.49%

U.S. stock-index futures rose on Thursday, continuing yesterday's dynamics, as concerns about a possible trade war between the United States and China eased.

Global Stocks:

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

American Express (AXP) initiated with a Buy at Citigroup; target $110

Intel (INTC) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel

Pfizer (PFE) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays

Citigroup (C) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS

Merck (MRK) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays