US midday: Stocks push slightly higher ahead of Jackson Hole
- Philly Fed index beats forecasts
- Investors waiting on Jackson Hole symposium
- Family Dollar rejects takeover approach
Dow Jones Industrials: 0.40%
Nasdaq Composite: 0.01%
S&P 500: 0.23%
The main US equity benchmarks were managing to hold slightly in the blue come midday despite the release of several stronger than expected economic indicators.
The S&P 500 was 0.23% higher at 1,991 points while the Nasdaq Composite was up just slightly, by 0.01%, to 4,527.
That came after the release, on Wednesday evening, of a more hawkish than expected set of minutes of last month's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
The minutes showed that the FOMC's members were becoming increasingly divided over policy, with a growing minority calling for a "relatively prompt move toward reducing policy accommodation".
Raft of economic data out
A raft of economic data was in focus on Thursday, including jobless claims figures, which dipped below the 300,000 mark for the third time in five weeks. The consensus forecast was 300,000.
Existing home sales increased to an annualised pace of 5.15m in July, up from 5.03m in the month before (consensus: 5.02).
The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators advanced at a 0.9% pace month-on-month in July, after a gain of 0.6% in the month before (consensus: 0.6%).
The Federal Reserve bank of Philadelphia's regional manufacturing index rose to 28 points from the 23.9 level seen in June (consensus: 19.7).
Meanwhile, the Jackson Hole Symposium of central bankers is due to kick off later on with comments from policymakers around the world likely to be closely watched.
Family Dollar Stores rejects approach from Dollar General
In corporate news, Family Dollar Stores has rejected a $9bn approach from Dollar General on the back of anti-trust concerns, and instead has favoured a lower offer from Dollar Tree.
Bank of America has reportedly agreed pay a record settlement of $17bn in response to an investigation into transactions relating to the 2008 financial crisis.
Front month West Texas crude futures were edging 0.12% higher to $93.55 per barrel on NYMEX.
US 10-year Treasury yields were flat at 2.42%.
S&P 500 - Risers
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $36.93 +5.15%
Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) $50.30 +5.10%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $56.01 +4.89%
SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI) $38.36 +2.38%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $15.86 +2.19%
Quanta Services Inc. (PWR) $35.93 +2.16%
Amphenol Corp. (APH) $104.36 +2.06%
Actavis plc (ACT) $227.19 +1.72%
Crown Castle International (CCI) $79.84 +1.64%
Avon Products Inc. (AVP) $14.10 +1.40%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $10.95 -3.27%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $16.31 -2.19%
Monsanto Co. (MON) $118.52 -1.98%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UA) $69.19 -1.94%
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) $104.44 -1.81%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $89.66 -1.80%
GameStop Corp. (GME) $40.60 -1.77%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $47.88 -1.47%
Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $30.92 -1.34%
Petsmart Inc. (PETM) $69.59 -1.32%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $58.32 +1.18%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.87 +1.07%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $104.30 +1.06%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $41.63 +0.92%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $191.81 +0.90%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $75.63 +0.90%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $93.82 +0.77%
American Express Co. (AXP) $89.03 +0.61%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $108.35 +0.60%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $90.37 +0.59%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $59.09 -0.66%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $28.82 -0.24%
Visa Inc. (V) $216.03 -0.08%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $56.01 +4.89%
Equinix Inc. (EQIX) $223.10 +1.23%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $71.87 +1.20%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.87 +1.07%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $70.15 +0.95%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $101.69 +0.90%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $77.08 +0.85%
Liberty Interactive Corp (LINTA) $28.99 +0.80%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $24.45 +0.72%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $46.31 +0.65%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $10.95 -3.27%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $89.66 -1.80%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $215.47 -1.62%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $47.88 -1.47%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $63.52 -1.21%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $54.34 -1.20%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $332.67 -0.93%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $33.00 -0.90%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $43.45 -0.89%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $19.11 -0.72%
AB