KeyCorp (KEY), Lincoln National (LNC), Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) Soar After Jobless Claims Improvement

Shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY), Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) and Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEArca:XLF) got a boost today after data was released showing jobless claims had fallen.

Financial stocks joined in the broad U.S. equities rally Thursday as a solid jobless-claims update boosted expectations for what February data on nonfarm payrolls and unemployment will show.

The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) jumped nearly 2%, as every component of the exchange-traded fund was in the green.

KeyCorp (KEY) ranked among the top performers, scoring a 2.4% gain. Dow Jones Newswires reported “some murky takeover speculation” for the regional-banking company.

A big contributor to the trading tone on Wall Street, first-time jobless claims fell by 20,000 to 368,000 in the latest week, the Labor Department said before the opening bell. New applications thus dropped to their lowest level in nearly three years.

“Fewer layoffs don’t necessarily mean grand hiring in a given month, we caution, but clearly the improvement in the pace of weakness in labor is reflected here,” said David Ader, head of government-bond strategy at CRT Capital Group.

The government’s payrolls data are due out early Friday.




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