Stocks rose Thursday morning, reversing overnight declines after new jobless claims came in lower than expected.
The Dow outperformed, adding more than 200 points, or 0.6%. The S&P 500 rose, while the Nasdaq turned negative as technology stocks gave back some recent gains.
Shares of work-from-home software stocks Okta (OKTA) and Workday (WDAY) slid despite each posting first-quarter results that beat estimates, with Okta announcing the departure of its chief financial officer. Nvidia (NVDA) shares were also off slightly even after posting estimates-topping first-quarter results, as the semiconductor company signaled chip shortages would likely constrain supply in the second half of the year.
The broader stock indexes have drifted this week, with volatility subsiding as investors awaited more economic data that might signal whether inflation would lead to a sustained jump in prices for consumers and producers and push rates higher. This could in turn weigh on stock valuations and put the brakes on the stock rally since last year's lows.
"Inflation has gone from being on no one's radar screen maybe five years ago as a lead concern, to now being at the absolute forefront as you see the economy rebound off of COVID lows," Todd Jablonski, chief investment officer at Principal Global Asset Allocation, told Yahoo Finance. "[There's been] a tremendous acceleration in earnings, coupled with massive monetary and fiscal stimulus. It's enough to really cause lift-off on a variable that's been stuck at below 2% growth for some time."