US open: Equities edge higher on Asia-driven momentum

US stocks gained ground early on Wednesday, buoyed by a surge in Asian markets.

Shortly after 1500 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 64 points to 16,557.22, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were 12 and 27 points higher respectively.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to make tax cuts, which led the Nikkei to rally 7.7%, its biggest one-day percentage gain in over seven years.

“The restatement of loose fiscal and monetary policy measures dissipated the grey clouds over the Japanese markets,” said Brenda Kelly, head analyst at London Capital Group.

“Although the conviction in Abenomics is on declining path on inability to bring the second and third arrows in the game, the promises of more liquidity and lower taxes could always make a shiny kneejerk boost.”

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite rose 2.29% after China’s Ministry of Finance promised to accelerate tax reforms and increase infrastructure spending in a bid to shore the country’s economy.

Wednesday data

According to figures released by the Labor Department, job openings increased from 5.32m in June to 5.75m in July, comfortably beating expectations for a 5.30m reading and the highest figure since records began in December 2000.

The job openings rate rose to 3.9% after staying at 3.6% throughout the previous quarter.

"Combining these data with figures from the Labor Department’s employment report suggests that labor market slack continues to diminish," analysts at Barclays said in a note.

"The ratio of unemployed job seekers to job openings fell to 1.44 in July, the lowest on record since 2000.

"On balance, the July JOLTS data suggest labor demand held up solidly at the beginning of the third quarter."

Meanwhile, the Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of application activity, which covers home purchase demand and refinancing demand, declined 6.2% in the week ended 4 September.

The seasonally-adjusted sub-index of refinancing applications tumbled 10%, while the index of loan requests for home purchases, a key indicator of home sales, fell 1% but remained 41% higher year-on-year.

In company news, Apple rose 0.45% ahead of its latest event, scheduled for 1800 BST, during which the tech giant is widely expected to unveil new versions of iPhone and Apple TV.

United Continental Holdings fell 0.59% and could be in focus after the airline revealed its chief executive stepped down amid a federal probe.

Yahoo! slid 0.39% after analysts at Nomura cut their target price on the stock from $48 to $40, while digital media producer Barnes & Noble tumbled 5.64% as quarterly results missed targets

Elsewhere, European equities moved higher on the back of strong performances in Asian markets, while oil prices edged lower, with West Texas Intermediate losing 0.95% to $45.51 a barrel and Brent slipping 0.85% to $49.10.

The dollar was broadly flat against the pound and gained 0.83% and 0.51% against the yen and the euro respectively, while gold futures slid 0.99% to $1,109.90.