US open: Stocks jump on hopes for Fed, geopolitical news

US stocks jumped on Thursday as investors continued to show optimism that the Federal Reserve could potentially have reached the end of its rate-hiking cycle.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 1.19% at 33,667.74, alongside a 1.55% rise for the S&P 500 to 4,303.43 and a 1.54% gain on the Nasdaq Composite to 13,261.43.

Yields on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note were nine basis points higher to 4.649%.

In his post-meeting press conference the night before, Fed chair Jerome Powell didn't go as far as calling time on future rate hikes, but many believed his comments were relatively dovish.

"Powell kept the door open to a rate hike in December, but did not seem very eager," said Philip Marey, analyst at Rabobank. "We still expect the bond market to do the Fed’s work, making a December hike redundant."

Initial jobless claims rose by 5,000 in the week to 27 October to reach 217,000 (consensus: 210,000), the Department of Labor said.

Significantly, Labor also reported that unit labour costs - a key source of inflation - fell at a quarterly annualised pace of 0.8% over the three months to September (consensus: -0.3%).

Also helping sentiment was newsflow from Israel, where hopes of a temporary de-escalation in conflict rose after US president Joe Biden added to calls for a humanitarian "pause" to allow hostages being held in the Gaza Strip to be released.

All eyes on Apple

Tech titan Apple will be making headlines ahead of its latest earnings report due out after the closing bell. Analysts expect the company to report a 1% year-on-year sales decline to $89.3bn for the third quarter, while the market will keep a close eye on the current outlook, with the last three months of the year being Apple's most important in terms of revenue.

Starbucks shares were climbing 10% following the coffee giant's quarterly earnings with smashed expectations. Same-store sales were up 8% on the back of improved average customer order sizes and increased footfall.

Disney shares were 2% higher on the news that it is to pay Comcast $8.6bn for its minority stake in streaming service Hulu, giving the entertainment company complete control.

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $21.10 2.30%
American Express Co. (AXP) $149.67 2.20%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $292.93 2.20%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $82.63 1.92%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $102.64 1.74%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $207.40 1.71%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $146.24 1.57%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $265.98 1.53%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $235.20 1.45%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $176.47 1.44%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $101.87 -0.95%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $164.36 -0.31%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $37.17 -0.31%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $529.98 -0.30%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $148.33 -0.24%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $168.97 -0.18%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $149.38 -0.15%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $346.41 0.10%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $145.60 0.14%

S&P 500 - Risers

Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $32.60 11.13%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $101.32 10.91%
Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $21.00 8.14%
Parker-Hannifin Corp. (PH) $400.57 8.12%
Teleflex Inc. (TFX) $200.69 7.03%
Quanta Services Inc. (PWR) $170.29 6.68%
Clorox Co. (CLX) $122.78 6.41%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $5.20 6.24%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $117.71 6.15%
Zoetis Inc (ZTS) $160.68 6.10%

S&P 500 - Fallers

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $27.39 -11.19%
Borg Warner Inc. (BWA) $33.51 -9.70%
Qorvo, Inc. (QRVO) $82.34 -6.24%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $0.92 -6.00%
Ansys Inc. (ANSS) $263.82 -5.36%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $61.27 -4.37%
Rockwell Automation Inc. (ROK) $256.07 -4.09%
McKesson Corp. (MCK) $445.29 -3.11%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.47 -2.72%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $63.21 -2.69%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $101.32 10.91%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.44 9.95%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $5.20 6.24%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,380.00 6.15%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $117.71 6.15%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $215.87 4.96%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $129.60 4.70%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $15.83 4.21%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $17.14 4.13%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $631.60 3.84%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $27.39 -11.19%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $78.24 -6.87%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $61.27 -4.37%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $63.21 -2.69%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $184.63 -2.21%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $195.98 -1.48%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $33.19 -1.03%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $243.14 -0.71%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $554.51 -0.41%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $38.56 -0.39%