US open: Stocks higher as traders digest July PCE reading

By Sharecast News

Sharecast News | 30 Aug, 2024

Updated : 15:58

Wall Street stocks were in the green early on Friday as investors digested a key inflation reading.

As of 1555 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.13% at 41,389.47, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.52% to 5,621.04 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.71% firmer at 17,641.29.

The Dow opened 54.42 points higher on Friday, extending gains recorded in the previous session and setting the blue-chip index on a course for another record close.

Friday's primary focus was last month's personal consumption expenditures price index, with the Federal Reserve Bank's preferred inflation gauge rising in July, according to the Commerce Department, in line with preliminary estimates. The personal consumption expenditures index increased by 0.2% month-on-month or 2.5% on a year-on-year basis, exactly in line with consensus estimates. Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, core PCE also increased 0.2% for the month but was 2.6% higher on the year, slightly softer than the 2.7% estimate.

Elsewhere on the macro front, the Chicago purchasing managers index rose to 46.1 in August, according to the Institute for Supply Management, up from 45.3 in July and ahead of market expectations for a print of 45.5.

Finally, consumer confidence in the States was virtually unchanged in August, as Americans continued to try and anticipate the winner of the next presidential elections. The final reading for the University of Michigan's consumer confidence index printed at 67.9 for August, against a reading of 66.4 in July. Economists had pencilled-in a print of 68.0.

In the corporate space, athleisure giant Lululemon missed quarterly revenue expectations for the first time since March 2022, while cosmetics retailer Ulta Beauty posted its first earnings miss since May 2020.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.04 9.49%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $334.58 1.08%
Boeing Co. (BA) $173.95 0.98%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $416.29 0.77%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $223.50 0.58%
Visa Inc. (V) $275.88 0.57%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $170.93 0.53%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $199.76 0.43%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $352.91 0.36%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $164.74 0.31%