US open: Markets largely unchanged after slightly disappointing economic data

US stocks were largely unchanged on Wednesday, as the number of jobless claims rose for the first time since September and orders for durable goods increased.

Just before 10:00 in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.09% down, while the S&P 500 rose 0.02% and the Nasdaq fell 0.2%.

According to figures released by the US Department of Commerce, orders for durable goods increased by 0.4% month-on-month in October to $243.8bn, beating consensus estimate of a 0.6% drop.

September’s figure was revised upward to show a drop of 0.9% month-on-month, instead of the 1.1% initially estimated, while durable goods orders have risen 7.5% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the core personal consumption index (CPI), the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, came in at 1.4% year-on-year, as expected, although the core measure ticked higher to 1.6%.

“Inflation has become a hot topic this year and is likely to continue to be in 2015, although the US seems to be suffering far less from low inflation than many of the other major nations,” said Craig Erlam, analyst at Alpari UK.

“The latest reading is expected to pick up slightly from October’s 1.5% reading, which would be in keeping with the CPI and PPI inflation readings, both of which showed an improvement when released last week.”

Meanwhile, the latest jobless claims report jumped to an 11-week high, topping the 300,000 mark for the first time since early September.

The number of people who applied for new unemployment benefits jumped 21,000 to 313,000 in the week ended 22 November, exceeding the 288,000 estimate.

In corporate news, Hewlett-Packard rose almost 3% despite reporting fourth quarter sales that missed estimates, while Deere & Co slid after revealing its 2015 profit will be $1.9bn rather than $2.2bn as originally estimated.

Hertz Global Holdings fell slightly, after Icahn Associates increased its stake in the car rental company to about 11% from 8.7% at the end of September.

The dollar fell against the pound, the yen and the euro, while gold futures slid marginally to $1.197.10.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note dropped two basis points to 2.24%, while the yield on the 30-year note declined by the same margin to 2.94% and the yield on the five-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 1.56%.

The prices of oil continue to tumble, with Brent crude losing almost a percentage point to $77.6 a barrel, while West Texas intermediate fell to $73.6 a barrel, after losing over 0.6%.