SPDR S&P 500 (NYSEArca: SPY) rose to its highest level since 2008 in Thursday’s rally fueled by the European Central Bank expanding its sovereign bond-buying program.
SPY jumped 2% on Thursday to a new 52-week high with declining weekly jobless claims also helping sentiment. Investors will get the August employment report on Friday.
The S&P 500 is still below its all-time high from 2007. SPY is the oldest and largest U.S.-listed ETF with about $103 billion in assets.
ECB President Mario Draghi on Thursday outlined a new program to buy bonds to support debt markets. [Volatility ETFs Hit New All-Time Lows on ECB Bond Buying]
“We are in a period where we are peeling away the onion little by little, all the uncertainties, what’s going to happen in Europe and what’s going to happen here,” Dan Veru, chief investment officer at Palisade Capital Management, told Bloomberg News. “I think Draghi is serious about putting Europe on the positive path.”