Stocks waver after broad-based rebound rally

U.S. stocks continued their climb Thursday after a rebound rally in the prior trading session helped all three major averages log gains of well above 1%.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% as of 10:40 a.m. ET, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.4%.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 surged 1.8%, 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.

All eyes were on Federal Reserve Chair Powell Thursday morning 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 U.S. central bank’s next policy announcement September 21.

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…