US open: Stocks edge higher after raft of economic data

US stocks edged higher on Thursday, as investors digested better-than-expected economic data.

Just after 15:00 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 20 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were advancing by one and seven points, respectively.

Thursday data

According to the Department of Labor, initial US weekly unemployment claims rose by 3,000 to reach 271,000, exceeding consensus of 265,000.

Meanwhile, personal income and spending increased by 0.5% and 0.9% month-on-month in May, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

That came as wages and salaries jumped by an out-sized $37.1bn.

“The three-month-on-three-month annualised rate of inflation has accelerated from a low of only 0.6% in February to 1.6% in May," said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics.

"In short, both the real activity and price data support a September rate hike."

The Markit Flash Composite PMI fell from 56.0 in May to 54.6 in June, a month which saw the slowest growth of factory output for close to a year-and-a-half.

“Flash PMI survey data signalling robust second quarter economic growth, strong employment gains and rising inflation add to pressure on the Fed to hike interest rates," said Chris Williamson, Markit's chief economist.

"But a slowdown in the pace of expansion in June may give the Fed a further pause for thought before hiking interest rates.

Greek woes rumble on

Elsewhere, European stocks were in the black, holding on to gains despite reports that Greece and its creditors have failed to reach an agreement ahead of the Eurogroup meeting.

Asian stocks fell, with the Shanghai Composite dropping over 3%.

“In all likelihood, creditors will leave it until the weekend or early next week to squeeze as much out of Greece as possible before risking the country defaulting on its debts,” said Jasper Lawler, analyst at CMC Markets.

The dollar was stable against the euro but fell 0.28% and 0.21% against the pound and the yen respectively, while gold futures slid 0.09% to $1,171.90.

Oil prices fell, with West Texas Intermediate losing 0..89% to $59.74 a barrel, while Brent edged 0.55% lower to $63.14 a barrel.

In company news, business consulting firm Accenture climbed 2.09% after its third quarter sales and profits beat expectations, while the company also lifted its outlook for 2015.

IAC/InterActiveCorp jumped 4.09% after CNBC reported the media and Internet company was planning to announce an initial public offering of its online dating site Match.com

Going the other way, Netflix shed 2.70% after Citigroup downgraded the stock from 'buy' to 'neutral' on valuation concerns, while Societe Generale cited similar worries to explain its decision to cut the rating on the stock from 'buy' to 'sell'.

Micron Technology and Nike will report after the close.