Stocks rally the most since March; applications for unemployment aid hit a pandemic low

Technology companies powered a broad rally for stocks on Wall Street on Thursday, lifting the S&P 500 to its biggest gain since March. The benchmark index rose 1.7% a day after breaking a three-day losing streak.

More than 90% of stocks in the S&P 500 gained ground. Apple and Microsoft were among the big gainers in the tech sector, each rising more than 2%.

Financial and healthcare stocks also did well. JPMorgan Chase rose 1.5%. UnitedHealth Group rose 4.2% after the health insurer raised its profit forecast for the year following a strong third quarter.

The market’s gains came as investors welcomed encouraging quarterly report cards from several companies. Every S&P 500 company that reported earnings so far this week has exceeded forecasts.

“It’s not surprising that the market has reacted pretty well to that,” said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab.

Investors were also reviewing the latest data on jobs and inflation.

The Labor Department said the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic began. It’s a positive sign for a job market that is trying to recover from the initial hit from the pandemic 18 months ago. A surge of cases over the summer stunted the recovery.

The S&P 500 rose 74.46 points (1.7%) to 4,438.26. It’s now on pace for a weekly gain. The Dow climbed 534.75 (1.6%) to 34,912.56. The Nasdaq added 251.79 (1.7%) to 14,823.43.

Small-company stocks also notched gains as the Russell 2000 index rose 32.21 points (1.4%) to 2,274.18.