US open: S&P 500 crosses 4,000 point barrier for the first time

Wall Street stocks were in the green early on Thursday, with the S&P 500 breaking above 4,000 for the first time in its history ahead of the Good Friday long weekend.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.20% at 33,047.44, while the S&P 500 was 0.85% firmer at 4,006.71 and the Nasdaq Composite started out the session 1.77% stronger at 13,480.94.

The Dow opened 65.89 points higher on Thursday, cutting into losses recorded in the previous session following the rollout of President Joe Biden's infrastructure plan.

Biden's multi-trillion dollar proposal, which includes spending on roads and bridges as well as green energy and water system upgrades, was still in focus after the open on Thursday.

"With the American Rescue Plan, we're meeting immediate emergencies. Now it's time to rebuild," said Biden.

This week's jobless claims report from the Department of Labor was also firmly in focus after unexpectedly rising last week. According to the Labor Department, initial claims for state unemployment benefits totalled a seasonally adjusted 719,000 for the week ended 27 March, up from the prior week's print of 658,000 - the fewest since the middle of March 2020.

However, job cuts data from ChallengerGray&Christmas published earlier in the morning fell in March, down from 34,531 in February to 30,603.

Elsewhere on the macro front, the ISM's manufacturing PMI registered 64.7% in March, an increase of 3.9 points month-on-month, indicating expansion in the overall US economy for a tenth consecutive month after a contraction in April 2020.

IHS Markit's manufacturing PMI also rose to a final print of 59.1 in March from 58.6 in February.

Lastly, construction spending fell in February, likely due to a cold snap in parts of the US during the month. According to the Commerce Department, construction spending decreased 0.8%, while data for January was revised down to show construction outlays increasing 1.2% instead of 1.7% as previously reported.

Still to come, Fed heads Patrick Harker and Robert Kaplan will deliver comments at 1700 BST and 2205 BST, respectively.

In the corporate space, Microsoft shares were in the green in early trading after revealing it had inked a $21.9bn deal to deliver more than 120,000 devices based on its HoloLens augmented reality headset to the US Army.

Micron Technology, which beat earnings expectations in its results last night, and Western Digital were also in focus after the Wall Street Journal revealed the pair were in talks to acquire Japanese semiconductor firm Kioxia for about $30.0bn.

Dow Jones - Risers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $218.58 3.17%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $241.27 2.33%
Visa Inc. (V) $216.38 2.20%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $187.63 1.69%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $123.47 1.08%
American Express Co. (AXP) $142.93 1.05%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $133.94 0.79%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $105.11 0.30%
Boeing Co. (BA) $255.32 0.24%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $327.48 0.15%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $228.50 -1.45%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $54.16 -1.35%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $133.83 -1.18%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $162.73 -0.99%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $369.62 -0.66%
3M Co. (MMM) $191.45 -0.64%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $132.48 -0.59%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $215.98 -0.50%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $57.90 -0.43%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $247.85 -0.39%

S&P 500 - Risers

Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $11.56 8.19%
Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $79.01 7.51%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $23.14 5.90%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $70.63 5.81%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $140.97 5.52%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $92.81 5.21%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $56.53 5.10%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $625.03 5.00%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $346.33 4.82%
Apache Corp. (APA) $18.76 4.80%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Sherwin-Williams Co. (SHW) $245.33 -66.76%
Nucor Corp. (NUE) $77.27 -3.74%
Carmax Inc. (KMX) $128.74 -2.95%
Svb Financial Group (SIVB) $480.11 -2.74%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $36.93 -2.48%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $67.63 -2.33%
Borg Warner Inc. (BWA) $45.35 -2.18%
Church Dwight Co Inc. (CHD) $85.51 -2.11%
Macy's Inc. (M) $15.85 -2.10%
Amerisource Bergen Corp. (ABC) $115.62 -2.08%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,560.24 5.98%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $70.63 5.81%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $140.97 5.52%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $108.76 5.33%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $92.81 5.21%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $625.03 5.00%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $346.33 4.82%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $258.84 4.19%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $251.70 3.65%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $128.32 3.57%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $67.63 -2.33%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $62.90 -1.43%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $54.16 -1.35%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $58.01 -0.89%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $213.08 -0.84%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $39.70 -0.75%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $95.49 -0.66%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $92.39 -0.57%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $108.78 -0.45%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $247.85 -0.39%