US open: Equities edge higher after raft of economic reports

US stocks edged slightly higher early on Wednesday as Wall Street digested a deluge of economic reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 11 points up to 17,822.78, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were one and 11 points higher respectively.

Raft of data on Wall Street

With Wall Street closed on Thursday and trading closing at 1pm Eastern Time on Friday (1800 GMT), investors had plenty to analyse on Wednesday.

According to the Commerce Department, orders for US durable goods increased 3% last month, compared to forecasts for a 1.5% gain. September's 1.2% drop was revised to a 0.8% decrease.

Elsewhere, consumer spending rose 0.1% month-on-month in October compared with a 0.1% increase in September and with analysts’ expectations for a 0.3% gain, while personal income rose 0.4% month-on-month in October in line with expectations and up from an upwardly revised 0.2% increase registered in September.

On a core level, which strips out food and energy, the personal consumption expenditure was flat, falling short of the 0.1% reading analysts had expected and lower than an upwardly revised 0.2% gain in the previous month.

Meanwhile, according to the Labor Department, new claims declined by 12,000 to 260,000 in the week to 21 November, compared with analysts' expectations for a 271,000 reading, while the average of new claims over the last four weeks were unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 271,000.

Still to come on the economic calendar, a preliminary reading of the Markit composite and services purchasing managers' index for November are on tap at 1445 GMT.

Shortly after that, at 1500 GMT, a reading on new home sales for October is scheduled for release, as is a reading on consumer sentiment for November.

In company news, Hewlett-Packard climbed 4.94%, despite posting weak quarterly sales late on Tuesday, while biotech group Baxalta rose 0.20% after a report suggested Dublin-based Shire was preparing a fresh takeover bid.

Elsewhere, Asian stocks declined amid fresh geopolitical tensions, while European equities gained ground and oil prices relinquished overnight gains. West Texas Intermediate fell 1.90% to $42.07 a barrel, while Brent crude lost 1.67% to $45.36 a barrel.

The dollar gained 0.59% and 0.28% against the euro and the yen respectively but fell 0.16% , while spot gold shed 0.46% to $1,070.71.