The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed to new respective records on Thursday after weekly U.S. jobless claims reached their lowest level since the start of the Covid crisis.

The broad equity benchmark added 0.3% to 4,536.95, hitting its 54th record closing high of 2021.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled 340,000 for the week ended Aug. 28, versus a Dow Jones estimate of 345,000. The number is also the lowest since March 2020.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has emphasized the need for more strong jobs data before the central bank would start to unwind its massive bond-buying program, putting heightened focus on Friday’s employment report.

U.S. stock futures were steady in overnight trading on Thursday as investors geared up for August’s jobs report.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose to records on the back of better-than-expected jobless claims data. The initial filings for unemployment insurance fell to their lowest levels since March 2020.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.14% to close at an all-time high. 

Investors are now looking ahead to August’s nonfarm payrolls report — released Friday morning — which could give clues about how fast the Federal Reserve will remove easy monetary policy. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect 720,000 jobs were added in the month, down from 943,000 jobs added in July.  The unemployment rate is expected to dip to 5.2%, compared to 5.4% in July.