US open: Stocks extend record-breaking rally as inflation fears ease

Wall Street stocks opened higher on Thursday after the Dow Jones closed at an all-time high in the previous session.

As of 1525 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.57% at 32,479.69, while the S&P 500 was 0.73% firmer at 3,927.09 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.40% stronger at 13,251.42.

The Dow Jones opened 182.67 points higher on Thursday, extending yesterday's record setting rally.

Like yesterday, Thursday's early gains were at least partly fuelled by news that the House of Representatives had passed Joe Biden's $1.9trn stimulus package, with the President now preparing to sign it into law by 14 March.

Also in focus on Thursday was the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which, while inching forward slightly to around 1.53%, had seemingly distanced itself enough from recent highs to temporarily halt a rotation away from tech and growth stocks and into more cyclical sectors.

In fact, tech stocks were actually leading the pack early on Thursday, with the likes of Apple, Facebook and Netflix all jumping at least 2% at the open, while Tesla shares advanced more than 4%.

On the macro front, unemployment claims in the US continued falling at a steady pace over the week ended 6 March, according to the Department of Labor. In seasonally adjusted terms, initial unemployment claims fell by 42,000 to reach 712,000, while the four-week moving average also retreated, falling 34,000 to 759,000.

Elsewhere, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' job openings and labour turnover summary for January revealed that the number of job openings on the last day of January was 6.9m, a touch better than the 6.6m print expected on the Street.

In corporate news, game technology company Inspired Entertainment beat fourth-quarter earnings and revenues estimates