US STOCKS-Tech stocks boost Nasdaq as recovery optimism prevails

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* U.S. new weekly jobless claims drop below 2 million
* J.M. Smucker falls on weak sales forecast for 2021
* American Airlines up on plans to boost U.S. flights in
July
* Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade rise as DOJ approves deal
* Indexes: Dow off 0.05%, S&P 500 down 0.09%, Nasdaq up
0.22%

(Updates to open)
By Devik Jain and Shreyashi Sanyal
June 4 (Reuters) - A rally in tech shares drove the Nasdaq
index higher on Thursday, with weekly jobless claims dipping
below 2 million for the first time since mid-March bolstering
optimism around an economic rebound from the coronavirus-driven
slump.
The NYSE FANG+TM Index .NYFANG , which includes Facebook
Inc FB.O , Apple AAPL.O , Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O , Netflix
NFLX.O and Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O , hit an intraday record high
in morning trading.
But the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones indexes pulled back
slightly after gaining earlier this week.
"The market is due for a pause," said Christopher Grisanti,
chief equity strategist at MAI Capital Management in Cleveland,
Ohio.
"It's really important to realize that U.S. equity investors
have been given a great gift in the middle of what is probably
the deepest recession in 80 years," he said, referring to the
strong run for Wall Street since late-March.
Wall Street's main indexes have recovered sharply from their
March lows and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index .IXIC is now only
1.3% away from surpassing its all-time closing high hit in
February.
A report from the Labor Department showed new claims for
state unemployment benefits totaled 1.877 million for the week
ended May 30, down from 2.126 million in the prior week.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 1.8 million initial
claims in the latest week. The focus will now shift to the closely watched employment
report for May, due Friday, which is expected to show
unemployment rate rocketing to 19.8%, a post-World War Two
record.
At 9:57 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 13.07 points, or 0.05%, at 26,256.82, the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 2.74 points, or 0.09%, at 3,120.13 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 21.04 points, or 0.22%, at 9,703.95.
American Airlines Group Inc AAL.O jumped 11.0% after the
airline revealed plans to fly more than 55% of its July 2019
domestic capacity and boost its U.S. flight schedule next month.
Jif peanut butter maker J.M. Smucker Co SJM.N fell 2.3%
after the company forecast a decline in full-year sales on
weakness in sales to restaurants and schools.
Charles Schwab Corp SCHW.N gained 0.5% after it received
an anti-trust approval from the Department of Justice for its
purchase of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp AMTD.O . Shares of TD
Ameritrade jumped 3.5%. EBay Inc EBAY.O jumped 7.1% after it raised its
current-quarter revenue and profit forecast, as people stuck at
home ordered more from its platform due to the COVID-19
pandemic.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers more than 2-to-1 on
the NYSE and nearly matched them on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded eight new 52-week highs and no new
low, while the Nasdaq recorded 29 new highs and one new low.