Major US stock indexes rose moderately amid rising quotes for the industrial goods sector, as well as reports by Dow Jones about the possibility of canceling Chinese tariffs, which were soon refuted by the US Treasury.

In addition, market participants analyzed data on the US labor market. As the report of the Ministry of Labor showed, the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits unexpectedly declined last week, indicating a steady strength of the labor market, which should continue to support the economy. According to the data, the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 3,000, taking into account seasonal fluctuations to 213,000 for the week ending January 12. The data for the previous week has not been revised. Economists had expected an increase in the number of calls by 220,000 last week.

Oil prices fell slightly on Thursday after oil production in the United States approached an unprecedented 12 million barrels per day, as well as increased concerns about weakening demand, especially in light of the trade dispute between the United States and China.

Most of the components of DOW recorded an increase (24 of 30). The growth leader was DowDuPont Inc. (DWDP, + 2.96%). Outsider were The Home Depot, Inc. (HD, -1.23%).

All sectors of the S & P finished trading in positive territory. The largest growth was shown by the industrial goods sector (+ 1.5%).

At the time of closing:

Dow 24,370.10 +162.94 +0.67%

S & P 500 2,635.96 +19.86 +0.76%

Nasdaq 100 7,084.46 +49.77 +0.71%

U.S. stock-index futures fell on Thursday, weighed down by Morgan Stanley’s (MS) disappointing results and renewed concerns over the progress of trade talks between the U.S. and China.

Global Stocks:

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

Morgan Stanley (MS) reported Q4 FY 2018 earnings of $0.80 per share (versus $0.84 in Q4 FY 2017), missing analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.89.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $8.548 bln (-10.0% y/y), missing analysts’ consensus estimate of $9.316 bln.

MS fell to $42.73 (-3.96%) in pre-market trading.

Alcoa Corp. (AA) reported Q4 FY 2018 earnings of $0.66 per share (versus $1.04 in Q4 FY 2017), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.50.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $3.344 bln (+5.4% y/y), generally in line with analysts’ consensus estimate of $3.313 bln.

AA fell to $28.88 (-0.35 %) in pre-market trading.