The US markets ended higher on Thursday following the release of a slew of U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing an unexpected decrease by initial jobless claims in the week ended June 21. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dipped to 2,36,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level of 2,46,000. Meanwhile, the street had expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 2,45,000 originally reported for the previous week. Besides, a separate report released by the Commerce Department showed new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods spiked by much more than expected in the month of May. The report said durable goods orders soared by 16.4 percent in May after tumbling by a revised 6.6 percent in April, while the street had expected durable goods orders to surge by 8.5 percent compared to the 6.3 percent slump that had been reported for the previous month. Moreover, investors shrugged off the revised data released by the Commerce Department showing the U.S. economy shrank by more than previously estimated in the first quarter of 2025. The Commerce Department said real gross domestic product fell by 0.5 percent in the first quarter compared to the previously reported 0.2 percent dip. On other hand, the street had expected the decrease by GDP to be unrevised.

Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 404.41 points or 0.94 percent to 43,386.84, Nasdaq jumped 194.36 points or 0.97 percent to 20,167.91 and S&P 500 climbed 48.86 points or 0.8 percent to 6,141.02.