Applications for US unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level since May, indicating the job market remains healthy despite a slowdown in hiring.
Initial claims decreased by 12,000 to 219,000 in the week ended September 14, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. That was below all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The period also corresponds with the so-called reference week when the survey is conducted for the September employment report.
Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, also dropped in the previous week, to the lowest in three months.
The four-week moving average, a metric that helps smooth out volatility in the data, fell to 227,500, the lowest since June.
What Bloomberg economics says…
“Initial jobless claims declined more than expected in the survey week for September’s employment report, due in part to difficulty adjusting the data around a major holiday like Labor Day. Claims tend to be depressed in holiday-shortened weeks, then rebound the following week — so the current data have limited value as a guide to September’s payroll print,” said Eliza Winger.
Claims for unemployment benefits have remained subdued in recent months even as labor demand cooled. The US central bank’s decision to lower interest rates by a half percentage point this week reflected policymakers’ intention to maintain what Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell described as “still a solid” labor market.
“We’re trying to achieve a situation where we restore price stability without the kind of painful increase in unemployment that has come sometimes with disinflation,” Powell said during a press conference Wednesday following the rate-cut announcement.
Initial claims, before adjustment for seasonal factors, rose by 6,436 to 184,845. Texas, New York and California saw the largest increases. Applications in Massachusetts fell by the most since the end of April.

Stock market today: BSE Sensex and Nifty50, the Indian equity benchmark indices, surged in trade on Friday to hit lifetime highs following a more than expected 50 basis points rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. While BSE Sensex climbed above 83,600, Nifty50 was above 25,550. At 9:20 AM, BSE Sensex was trading at 83,636.77, up 689 points or 0.83%. Nifty50 was at 25,571.70, up 194 points or 0.77%.
Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research, Wealth Management at Motilal Oswal, says, “A 25bps rate cut is already discounted and can lead to profit booking in the market.However, a 50bps rate cut by the Fed could bring some cheer to market sentiments. Also, Fed commentary will be important as it will give clarity on the quantum and duration of the rate cut cycle. We expect the market to remain volatile in the near term with rate-sensitive sectors in focus.”
Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities noted that the short-term trend of Nifty remains positive with range-bound action, and any dips to the support levels of 25,200-25,100 could present a buying opportunity. A decisive move above 25,500 levels might propel Nifty towards higher targets.
In the global markets, U.S. stocks closed with modest losses on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points, exceeding expectations. The S&P 500 futures rose 0.5%, while Japan’s Topix gained 2%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2%. Euro Stoxx 50 futures also climbed 0.7%.
In the forex market, the euro, Japanese yen, and offshore yuan experienced slight declines against the US dollar. Oil prices fell in Asian trading on Thursday following the larger-than-expected Federal Reserve interest rate cut, which raised concerns about the U.S. economy.
Several stocks are in the F&O ban period today, including Balrampur Chini Mills, Hindustan Copper, GNFC, RBL Bank, PNB, Bandhan Bank, Biocon, Birlasoft, LIC Housing Finance, and Granules. Foreign portfolio investors turned net buyers with Rs 1154 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 152 crore. The net long position of FIIs increased from Rs 2.2 lakh crore on Tuesday to Rs 2.37 lakh crore on Wednesday.

NEW YORK: Wall Street is holding near its records on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kicked off its efforts to prevent a recession with a bigger-than-usual cut to interest rates.
The S&P 500 was virtually flat in late trading and 0.6% below its all-time high set in July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 31 points, or 0.1%, and close to its record set on Monday.The Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher, as of 3:35 p.m. Eastern time.
The momentous move by the Fed helps financial markets in two big ways. It eases the brakes off the economy, which has been slowing under the weight of higher rates, and it gives a boost to prices for all kinds of investments. Besides stocks, gold and bond prices had already rallied in recent months on expectations that cuts to rates were coming.
Because the move was so well telegraphed, and markets had already climbed so much in anticipation of it, Wall Street’s reactions were relatively muted despite the Fed’s historic action. It marked the first cut to the federal funds rate in over four years, and it closed the door on a stretch where the Fed kept the rate at a two-decade high to slow the economy enough to stifle the worst inflation in generations.
Now that inflation has eased significantly from its peak two summers ago and appears to be heading toward 2%, the Fed says it it can turn more of its attention toward protecting the slowing job market and overall economy.
“The time to support the labor market is when it’s strong and not when you begin to see the layoffs,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said. “That’s the situation we’re in.”
The only question is how much the Fed will ultimately cut rates by to do so, which can prove to be a tricky balance. Lowering rates would help the economy by making it easier for US businesses and households to borrow. But it could also offer more fuel for inflation.
The Fed released forecasts Wednesday that said its median official expects to cut the federal funds rate by another half of a percentage point through the end of the year. That could mean a traditional-sized cut of a quarter of a percentage point at each of its two remaining meetings scheduled for 2024.
After that, the median Fed official is projecting another full percentage point of cuts during 2025.
Some critics say the Federal Reserve may be moving too late to protect the economy after having kept rates too high for too long.
“When the Fed is behind the curve, it sometimes takes a big move to catch up to where they should have been all along,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.
“We don’t think we’re behind,” Powell said in a press conference following the Fed’s announcement. “We think this is timely. But I think you can take this as a sign of our commitment not to get behind,” pointing to Wednesday’s hefty cut of half a percentage point. Powell called it a “good strong start to this.”
Other critics, meanwhile, are saying the Fed will need to be careful about cutting rates too much because of the possibility that inflation will remain stubbornly higher than it’s been in recent decades.
Powell repeated several times that the Fed does not feel “a rush to get this done” and will make its decisions on interest rates at each successive meeting, depending on what incoming data say.
“We’ll move as fast or as slow as we think is appropriate in real time,” he said. For now, he said, “the US economy is in a good place, and our decision today is designed to keep it there.”
Treasury yields squiggled down and up immediately after the Fed announced its cut and published its projections.
The 10-year Treasury yield eventually rose to 3.70% from 3.65% late Tuesday. The two-year yield, which more closely follows expectations for Fed action, edged up to 3.62% from 3.60% late Tuesday.
On Wall Street, stocks of oil-and-gas producers and other companies whose profits are most closely tied to the strength of the economy helped lead the way. Utilities and other dividend-paying stocks that tend to hold up better during economic downturns, meanwhile, lagged behind the market.
That could be a signal that Wall Street sees lower odds of painful recession following the Fed’s cut, according to Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
Intuitive Machines soared 40% after Nasa awarded it with a contract worth up to $4.82 billion for communication and navigation services the space agency will use to establish a long-term presence on the moon.
Trading in Tupperware Brands remained halted after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Its stock has been sinking, down to 51 cents, since a mini-revival early in the pandemic sent its stock above $30.
McGrath RentCorp., a company that rents and sells mobile office trailers, portable classrooms and other structures, fell 3.9% after it agreed to terminate its proposed buyout by WillScot following tough scrutiny of the deal from US regulators.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were modestly lower in Europe after finishing higher in much of Asia.
The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England are also holding monetary policy meetings later this week. Neither central bank is expected to move on rates, though the language of what the officials say could be an indicator of later moves and still influence markets.