US open: Stocks higher ahead of FOMC decision

Wall Street stocks were in the green yet again early on Thursday as market participants seemingly continued to cheer former president Donald Trump's re-election victory and awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting.

As of 1515 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.10% at 43,775.65, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.52% to 5,959.92 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.10% firmer at 19,192.39.

The Dow opened just 45.72 points higher on Thursday after registering its biggest post-election rally for more than a century in the previous session.

Besides the Republican Party's White House victory, Thursday's primary focus will likely be on the Federal Reserve Bank's interest rate decision at 1900 GMT, with the central bank widely expected to lower its benchmark overnight rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%. Comments from chairman Jerome Powell will also draw a significant amount of investor attention.

Elsewhere on the macro front, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated pace in the week ended 2 November, according to the Department of Labor. Initial jobless claims rose by 3,000 week-on-week to 221,000, in line with market expectations and continuing to point to a certain degree of resilience in the US labour market.

On another note, a preliminary reading of non-farm business sector labour productivity rose by 2.2% in Q3, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, following a downwardly revised 2.1% increase in Q2 and short of estimates of 2.3%.

Finally, US wholesale inventories fell by 0.2% month-on-month in September to $903.7bn, according to the Census Bureau, compared to a preliminary estimate of a 0.1% drop and following a 0.2% rise in August.

In the corporate space, Warner Brothers Discovery fell short of revenue estimates as a result of weakness in its studio unit, while Moderna posted a surprise profit on the back of solid Covid vaccine sales and the benefits of recent cost-cutting efforts, and doughnut maker Krispy Kreme dropped on the back of an earnings miss.

Still to come, Block, Pinterest, and Rivian will all report earnings after the close of trading.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $9.48 2.71%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $25.65 2.38%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $395.52 1.84%
Boeing Co. (BA) $149.74 1.75%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $225.74 1.35%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $76.04 0.96%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $309.71 0.92%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $162.48 0.89%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $601.54 0.81%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $84.01 0.68%

Dow Jones - Fallers

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $240.43 -2.68%
American Express Co. (AXP) $289.82 -1.81%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $40.67 -1.18%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $413.00 -0.93%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $319.53 -0.70%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $592.45 -0.59%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $252.46 -0.59%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $157.42 -0.29%
Visa Inc. (V) $306.67 -0.24%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $157.45 -0.17%

S&P 500 - Risers

Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $11.24 28.46%
Under Armour, Inc. (UA) $10.09 25.19%
Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $8.53 20.21%
McKesson Corp. (MCK) $594.58 8.24%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $97.37 6.19%
Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) $220.84 6.15%
Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $66.52 5.12%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $49.10 4.75%
Tapestry Inc. (TPR) $51.92 4.33%
Ansys Inc. (ANSS) $347.00 4.01%

S&P 500 - Fallers

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $19.45 -18.87%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $16.16 -7.18%
Apache Corp. (APA) $23.38 -5.46%
Transdigm Group Inc. (TDG) $1,318.26 -4.65%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $7.14 -3.97%
Rockwell Automation Inc. (ROK) $283.00 -3.74%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $29.42 -3.52%
Zions Bancorporation (ZION) $58.36 -3.30%
Keycorp (KEY) $19.33 -3.23%
Becton, Dickinson & Company (BDX) $232.73 -3.06%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $97.37 6.19%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $40.61 5.02%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $172.83 3.73%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $88.39 3.59%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $9.48 2.71%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $678.80 2.63%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $93.27 2.58%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $25.65 2.38%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $183.76 2.34%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $191.82 2.29%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $19.45 -18.87%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,770.00 -16.40%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.51 -9.79%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $401.01 -1.72%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $146.18 -1.62%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $79.71 -1.54%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $68.94 -1.53%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $36.33 -1.50%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $44.49 -1.44%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $1,216.57 -1.42%