US open: Modest gains at the bell following latest Fed interest hike

Wall Street trading kicked off with some modest gains on Thursday as investors digested news of the Fed's third interest hike this year and thumbed through a sea of economic reports, including an update to the nation's second-quarter GDP.

As of 1520 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial had picked up 0.21% to 26,4439.47, while the S&P 500 was trading 0.43% higher at 2,918.41 and the Nasdaq had moved 0.58% firmer to 8,053.52.

Stocks moved higher in yesterday's sessions as traders seemed to welcome the Fed's decision to stop describing its policy stance as "accommodative", even as it hiked the target range for the Fed funds rate by 25 basis points to between 2.0% and 2.25%.

However, stocks slipped in the last 30 minutes of trading, after Powell explained that that wasn't meant as a signal.

SpreadEx analyst Connor Campbell, said: "In what has so far been a disappointing reversal following last Friday's record peak, the Dow Jones attempted to buck the week’s downward trajectory after the bell, pushing back towards 26,450 as it rose 50 points."

"Granted, that is not a huge move higher, and leaves it around 300 points shy of the levels struck just over a week ago; however, given it is less than 24 hours after the Fed’s interest rate rise and December hike-suggesting statement, it's a decent enough start."

Elsewhere, trade concerns also remained on investors' minds after Chinese officials took aim at Donald Trump earlier in the week, accusing him of "trade bullyism" and a racist "America First" agenda that came at the cost of international relations.

Investors were also keeping one eye locked on a Senate hearing of Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who is facing allegations of sexual misconduct.

On the data front, initial jobless claims for the week ending on 22 September increased by 12,000 to 214,000, according to the Department of Labor. Economists had forecast 205,000.

The very closely-followed indicator of the health of the US labour market surprised slightly as economists had forecast 205,000. However, analysts had cautioned that recent hurricanes could potentially lead to upwards distortions in the figures.

Elsewhere, demand for long-lasting goods produced by US manufacturers increased last month as a result of aircraft orders taking off.

The Commerce Department revealed that orders for durable goods, which reflects manufactured products intended to last a minimum of three years, rose a seasonally adjusted 4.5% in August.

The improvement marked the best gain since February - well above the 2.1% improvement economists had forecast.

Also from the Commerce Department, the government body revealed that US real gross domestic product rose at a 4.2% annualized rate across the second quarter, unrevised from earlier estimates.

Think Markets' chief analyst Naeem Aslam, said: "Literally, when you look at the durable number and GDP it makes your jaws drop- this makes you think why investors should not be worried about the trade war. Having said this, some investors are still not convinced with this number because of the noise it carries. Hence the equity markets haven't shown much excitement."

In corporate news, T-Mobile shares got a 0.93% boost after analysts at Guggenheim upped the telco's target price and Salesforce rose 1.66% after Jefferies hiked its target price on the firm.

Wayfair also picked up 3.62% following an increase to its target price over at MKM Partners.

Carnival shares sunk 8.54% after a weak fourth-quarter guidance

Geron plummeted 64.69% after its collaboration deal with Janssen was aborted and Bed Bath and Beyond tumbled 22.91% after its earnings and revenues missed expectations on the Street.