US close: Dow Jones higher following US-UK trade deal announcement
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Thursday 08 May 2025
(Sharecast News) - Major indices closed higher on Thursday following the announcement of a new US-UK trade deal.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.62% at 41,368.45, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.58% to 5,663.94 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.07% firmer at 17,928.14.
The Dow closed 254.48 points higher on Thursday, extending gains recorded in the previous session as all three major averages logged a winning session.
Thursday's primary focus was news that the White House had struck a trade deal with Westminster. However, while Donald Trump called the agreement "full and comprehensive" in a post on social media, UK officials offered no confirmation beyond acknowledging ongoing talks. Analysts believed the deal would focus on tariff reductions for key exports such as cars and steel, rather than constituting a broader free trade agreement. Trump claimed the deal was just the "first of many".
Elsewhere, Donald Trump also took aim at Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell yet again on Thursday after the central bank opted to keep its benchmark overnight lending rate unchanged at a range of 4.25% to 4.5% due to heightened economic uncertainty as a result of the White House's so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs.
"'Too Late' Jerome Powell is a FOOL, who doesn't have a clue. Other than that, I like him very much! Oil and Energy way down, almost all costs (groceries and "eggs") down, virtually NO INFLATION, Tariff Money Pouring Into the US - THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF "TOO LATE!" ENJOY!," Trump wrote on social media.
The Federal Reserve's decision to maintain rates until the economic outlook becomes slightly clearer comes as the "risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation" have risen. Powell also said Trump's constant derision and criticisms had not impacted the central bank's thinking "at all".
"We are always going to do the same thing, which is we are going to use our tools to foster maximum employment and price stability for the benefit of the American people," said Powell. "We are always going to consider only the economic data, the outlook, the balance of risks and that's it. That's all we are going to consider."
On the macro front, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a slower pace in the week ended 3 May, according to the Labor Department. Initial jobless claims fell by 13,000 to 228,000, a sharp contrast when compared to the two-month high of 241,000 from the previous week, while continuing claims fell by 29,000 to 1.87m, easing from the over three-year high seen during April. The four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, was 227,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 226,000. Meanwhile, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending 26 April, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week's unrevised rate.
On another note, measured US labour productivity tumbled at the start of 2025, as a surge in imports led to a drop in aggregate demand. According to the Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms, non-farm labour productivity shrank at a quarterly annualised pace of 0.8% during the first quarter (consensus: -0.4%). The drop was the result of 0.6% growth in the number of hours worked, even as output dropped by 0.3% from the previous quarter. In turn, output was dragged down by a surge in net imports as Americans tried to front-run trade tariffs. Unit labour cost growth meanwhile accelerated to a clip of 5.7% (consensus: 5.3%), in comparison to the 2.0% pace of gain observed in the fourth quarter.
Finally, US wholesale inventories rose by 0.4% month-on-month to $907.5bn in March, according to the Census Bureau, falling short of a preliminary reading of 0.5% and following February's 0.5% increase in February. Durable goods inventories rose 0.6%, while inventories of non-durable goods rose 0.1%. On an annualised basis, wholesale inventories grew 2.2% in March, down slightly from an advance estimate of 2.3%.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Boeing Co. (BA) $192.46 3.72%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.01 3.45%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $105.25 3.10%
American Express Co. (AXP) $284.37 2.94%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $29.25 2.83%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $567.52 2.83%
3M Co. (MMM) $141.44 2.02%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $253.93 1.82%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $325.67 1.68%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $137.49 1.25%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $77.66 -1.85%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $71.22 -1.63%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $313.48 -1.46%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $385.92 -1.31%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $272.30 -1.28%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $97.59 -1.25%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $155.54 -1.12%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $43.57 -0.73%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $158.68 -0.38%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
S&P 500 - Risers
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $15.91 16.30%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $7.05 8.05%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $48.63 7.36%
Celanese Corp. (CE) $51.81 6.93%
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $41.47 6.29%
PVH Corp. (PVH) $75.70 6.25%
VF Corp. (VFC) $13.44 5.70%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $32.00 5.65%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $4.82 5.47%
Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (SWK) $62.13 5.43%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $97.85 -8.31%
Cencora Inc (COR) $284.88 -6.47%
H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $58.60 -4.93%
Molson Coors Beverage Co. Class B (TAP) $54.16 -4.71%
Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) $146.82 -4.34%
McKesson Corp. (MCK) $693.35 -4.02%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $18.33 -3.53%
Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) $107.57 -3.12%
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) $752.89 -3.07%
Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) $57.17 -2.99%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $15.91 16.30%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $2,409.73 6.53%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $181.30 5.27%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $11.05 4.59%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $79.56 4.20%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $137.75 3.61%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $285.83 3.48%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.01 3.45%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $85.40 3.36%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $68.78 3.32%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.14 -28.71%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $549.79 -1.99%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $9.26 -1.54%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $9.48 -1.30%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $272.30 -1.28%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $248.19 -1.22%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $1,362.23 -1.15%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $388.22 -1.13%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $430.54 -0.98%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $1,144.34 -0.96%
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN