Stock Market Today: Dow's Winning Streak Extends to 7 Days

Thursday was another day in the green for the major U.S. stock indexes, as new data showing a cooling job market helped the Dow along to seven straight days of gains.

The blue-chip index closed higher by more than 300 points, or nearly 1 percent, while the broader S&P 500 ended the day up half-a-percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed a quarter-of-a-percent. Each index is up about 3 percent this month after a downbeat April.

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Caterpillar and Home Depot, two Dow components both considered bellwethers for the U.S. economy, each gained about 2 percent on the day.

Driving the gains during a week of light economic data were weekly jobless claims, which came in higher than expected on Thursday morning. That print gave fuel to investors' hopes that the labor market is slowing, which is one of the key metrics the Federal Reserve is looking to see before it starts cutting interest rates.

On the earnings beat, the semiconductor-design firm Arm Holdings fell 2 percent after delivering a full-year guidance below expectations. The company, which went public last year, has been on a run, up more than 50 percent this year as part of a wider AI boom that's pushing chipmakers higher.

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Airbnb and Robinhood also fell after their reports. The home-sharing giant disappointed on guidance for the current quarter, dropping 7 percent, while the stock-trading app crushed its earnings, delivering record revenue and profit even as the stock ended lower by 3 percent. Thursday's dip signaled investors' belief that the record earnings were already priced in, given that Robinhood shares are up 40 percent on the year.

Friday will bring quarterly results from Honda Motors and the Canadian energy provider Enbridge. Investors will also be monitoring comments from several Fed officials scheduled to speak at various events for signs about the central bank's continuing inflation strategy.