Choppy trading on Wall Street reflected caution among traders ahead of the Labor Department's monthly jobs report, expected to show a gain of 170,000 jobs in January, down from 256,000 in December, potentially influencing interest rate expectations. Ahead of this, another Labor Department report revealed initial jobless claims rose by 11,000 to 219,000 for the week ending February 1, surpassing expectations. A separate report released by the Labor Department showed U.S. labor productivity and unit labor costs both increased by less than expected in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Banking stocks moved notably higher however, with the KBW Bank Index climbing by 1.5%. Computer hardware stocks were considerably strong reflected by the 1.3% gain posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. Steel stocks also turned in a strong performance while the energy stocks were under pressure, dragging the NYSE Arca Oil Index and the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index down by 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively.

Asia-Pacific stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.6%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.3%. The major European markets also showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index shot up by 1.2%, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both surged by 1.5%.

In the bond market, treasuries saw a modest pullback after moving notably higher in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, crept up 1.8 bps to 4.44%.

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