Stock market news live updates: Stocks gain for a second straight day as rebound continues

U.S. stocks rose for a second straight session Thursday after swinging between gains and losses for much of the trading day.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.7%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average and technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite each advanced 0.6%.

All eyes were on Federal Reserve Chair Powell Thursday as he spoke at the Cato Institute’s 40th Annual Monetary Conference in Washington D.C. The U.S. central bank chief reasserted the Fed’s commitment to fighting inflation but remained hopeful the endeavor can be done without the “very high social costs” of monetary tightening.

The appearance marked Powell’s final public remarks before the Fed’s next policy announcement September 21.

Thursday’s seesaw session comes after the S&P 500 surged 1.8% Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average about 1.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite 2.1% – snapping a seven-day streak of declines and notching its biggest jump in four weeks.

On the economic data front, initial jobless claims fell to the lowest reading since May. Filings for first-time unemployment insurance totaled 222,000 in the week ended Sept. 3, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists called for 240,00 claims, according to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Across the Atlantic, the European Central Bank delivered an unprecedented 75 basis point interest rate hike and signaled further increases after inflation in the eurozone hit a new record high.

The increase came just two weeks before the Federal Reserve is poised to raise interest rates in the U.S. by 0.75% for the third consecutive time. Some market participants had hoped that policymakers would slow the pace of their rate-hiking campaign this fall, but strong economic data on the labor and manufacturing fronts have tempered those expectations.

U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell listens during his re-nominations hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill, in Washington, U.S., January 11, 2022. Brendan Smialowski/Pool via REUTERS

CME Group’s Fedwatch tool reflects expectations for a bump of three quarters of a percentage at about 86%, up from 69% one week ago.

A flurry of Wall Street institutions have also raised their bets on a 75-basis-point hike this month including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Nomura.

Shares of GameStop (GME) were ripped 7.5% higher after the meme-stock darling announced a partnership with crypto platform FTX late Wednesday. The video-game retailer also reported second-quarter earnings that showed losses widened to $108.7 million while sales declined 4% from a year ago to $1.14 billion.

American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) shares tanked 8.8% after the company missed on earnings, paused its quarterly dividend, and warned “demand trends remain difficult” in the current quarter.

In commodity markets, oil prices nudged 1% higher after settling at a fresh seven-month low on Wednesday.

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Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc

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