Dow rises slightly for a third day led by tech stocks as markets shrug off poor jobs data 

Tech shares led U.S. stocks higher Thursday, despite an unexpected jump in jobless claims that resurfaced some concerns about the economy and sent bond yields lower. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 72 points higher, the S&P 500 is 0.2% higher and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is leading the markets with a 0.3% gain. 

Investors jumped back into their favorite tech stocks as optimism about the sector grows ahead of big earnings reports next week for some of the largest names in the space. Salesforce is 2.5% higher while Amazon and Facebook are 1% higher. 

Microsoft rose 1% higher after Citi raised its price target, saying the tech giant has the potential to beat Wall Street expectations when it reports quarterly earnings next week. Citi predicted the stock  will rise more than 30% over the next year. Apple also rose 1% after Cannacord Genuity said there was “strong demand” for Apple products ahead of its earnings next week. 

Still, a strong second-quarter earnings reporting season continues, with American Airlines posting a profit for the second-quarter, snapping a streak of five straight quarters with losses, thanks to the recovery in travel demand and government aid. The shares, which were up 8% this week, are down 1% on Thursday. Similarly, Southwest Airlines reported a quarterly profit, but the carrier’s stock is 3% lower. 

Union Pacific, traded up more than 1% after reporting second-quarter net income of $1.8 billion or $2.72 per diluted share. That’s up from $1.1 billion, or $1.67 per diluted share in the year-ago quarter. 

CSX jumped more than 4% after the railroad’s second-quarter profit more than doubled. AT&T shares are slightly higher after earnings and revenue topped analyst estimates. 

Texas Instruments is down more than 4.5% after the chipmaker topped expectations for the second quarter, but warned that third quarter results could fall short of analysts’ estimates. 

Intel, Twitter, Snap and Capital One will post quarterly updates after the market closes. 

The European Central Bank on Thursday held monetary policy steady, but tweaked guidance to reflect its recently-hiked inflation target. The bank vowed to maintain a “persistently accommodative” stance until its target is met consistently. 

Source: CNBC, Investing.com