US open: Mixed trading at the bell as earnings continue to stream in

Wall Street trading began on a mixed note on Thursday as investors thumbed through even more earnings reports.

At 1500 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.23% to 24,519.34 and the S&P 500 was 0.17% weaker at 2,634.24. On the other hand, the Nasdaq had grown 0.47% firmer at 7,058.70.

President Trump's State of Union address was cancelled after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to allow the speech to go ahead until the 34-day long government shutdown has been ended.

The Senate will consider a pair of competing bills aimed at putting a stop to the shutdown later in the day; however, both are expected to come up short.

Elsewhere, trade relations between the US and China remained on investors' minds as the Chinese commerce ministry said there would be in-depth talks between the two on economic and trade issues during Chinese Vice Premier Liu He's visit to Washington next week.

Shortly after the bell, the USD had picked up 0.18% against the GBP to 0.7666.

In corporate news, Bristol-Myers shares slipped 0.48% at the open after the company withdrew its application for US approval for a combination of its cancer immunotherapy drugs Opdivo and Yervoy as an initial treatment for advanced lung cancer.

Netflix was 0.73% higher despite rival Hulu announcing it would be cutting the price of its base, ad-supported subscription plan in February to $5.99 a month from $7.99.

McCormick tanked 10.41% at the bell following the realise of its fourth-quarter earnings which missed analysts' expectations, while Southwest Airlines flew 3.76% higher in pre-market trade as it posted a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit.

On the data front, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, to a 49-year low, according to data from the Labor Department.

US initial jobless claims fell by 13,000 from the previous week's revised level to 199,000, versus expectations for a level of 220,000. This marked the lowest level for claims since 15 November 1969, when it was 197,000.

The previous week's level was revised down by 1,000.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average came in at 215,000, down 5,500 from the previous week's average, which was revised down by 250.

Elsewhere, US firms are still growing, but at a more moderate pace than they had done so a year earlier, according to IHS Markit's flash price manager's index.

The manufacturing index rose slightly to 54.9 from 53.8, while the services barometer slipped to 54.2 from 54.4.

"US businesses reported a solid start to 2019, with the rate of expansion running only slightly weaker than the average seen in the second half of last year," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit.